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| Tim Tebow is joining the Philippines... as a local. CBS |
PARANAQUE--No less than a top official of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association confirmed that former NFL star Tim Tebow is indeed joining the Philippine team for the World Baseball Classic Qualifier.
"We are very excited that he has agreed to play for the Philippines," Pepe Muñoz, PABA's secretary general who also acts as the head of the Philippine delegation to the WBC, told Dugout Philippines in a text message on Thursday, hours after news broke out about Tebow's inclusion to the Nationals.
Tebow himself made the announcement on Twitter, saying, "[I am] grateful and excited to play for team Philippines in the WBC, the country I was born in and somewhere that is near and dear to my heart!"
Grateful and excited to play for team Philippines 🇵🇭 in the @WBCbaseball... the country I was born in and somewhere that is near and dear to my heart!— Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) February 26, 2020
However, due to his commitments with the New York Mets in the MLB Spring Training, Muñoz said that the Philippine team will only get to meet Tebow once they arrive in the United States.
"We will meet him on March 18 in Tucson, Arizona," he further texted.
The WBC allows players born in the country they want to represent to join the said country's national team, making Tebow, an American but was born in Makati, eligible to play for the Philippines without the need for naturalization.
The WBC allows players born in the country they want to represent to join the said country's national team, making Tebow, an American but was born in Makati, eligible to play for the Philippines without the need for naturalization.
More popular for his American football stint especially with the Denver Broncos, the 32-year-old Tebow has since delved into professional baseball upon what seemed like his NFL "retirement" in 2015.
The Mets signed him to a minor league contract in 2016 but has been part of the club's spring training squad for the past two years including this one.
Tebow was stellar for the Mets' AAA affiliate last year, but his season was cut short with a left pinky finger injury.
The Philippines will first play Czech Republic on March 20, and the team will also play New Zealand and Great Britain afterward.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
The Philippines will first play Czech Republic on March 20, and the team will also play New Zealand and Great Britain afterward.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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