NBA G LEAGUE STAR MUOKA EYES HONG KONG PASSPORT AHEAD OF FIBA ASIA CUP QUALIFIERS

Former Long Island Net David Muoka says he is likely to be able to start playing for city in one of next two Fiba windows, as is Glen Yang

Hong Kong are expecting a double upgrade ahead of their next Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers window in November, after NBA G League player David Muoka revealed on Wednesday he was going through the process of acquiring a city passport.

Muoka said he would play for Hong Kong once that came through, while Glen Yang, who last played for the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in July, has also started the process of getting his papers.

Making an appearance at the NBA Cares Basketball Clinic at Yew Chung International School in Kowloon Tong, Muoka said he expected to be cleared to play for Hong Kong in the coming Fiba windows.

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"If not November, then definitely the February window, during the NBA All-Star break," said the 23-year-old, who appeared alongside Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic and the NBA team legends Cedric Ceballos and Rex Chapman. "I've been talking to people within the Hong Kong Basketball Association - so very exciting, and I am ready for that as well.

"I feel like it's the right thing to do to give back to Hong Kong because this is my city, my home, where I was born and raised. So to be able to represent on the national stage would be even bigger than just representing on the NBA stage."

Eligible to represent Nigeria through his father, England through his mother, of the city of his birth, the West Island School graduate said it had not been a difficult decision.

"To represent the place where I was born and raised would mean more to me than to represent anywhere else," he said.

"It wasn't too difficult after talking to my mum and dad especially, but also my brother - we decided it was the best option for me. I also felt playing for Hong Kong would be great for the city as well, just to bring up the level of basketball and the awareness."

The towering 6-feet 8-inch (2.08 metres) rim protector believed he could bring "the skills that I have already proven and shown in the G League" to the Hong Kong team.

"[Not only] my rebounding, my defence, my shot blocking, my finishing around the rim, but also to be able to showcase a different aspect of my game I haven't been able to showcase so far in the G League," he said.

"[There's] also my shooting or my dribbling, my playmaking, because I used to be a guard when I was growing up. So to be able to showcase those skills would be fun and I think the Hong Kong fans will have a lot to be excited about."

Muoka, who last played for the Long Island Nets, the G League affiliate of the New Jersey Nets, also said he was close to finalising an "exciting, different contract than I was on last year".

"[Playing in the] NBA has always been my dream, just to be able to upgrade and make a move and take steps towards that is exciting," said Muoka, who averaged 8.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in the play-offs for the Nets.

"It's either going to be a two-way or an Exhibit 10 contract - [that's all] I can say right now for sure."

A player under the two-way contract generally bounces back and forth between the NBA and G League while an Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary agreement that is not guaranteed. It can also include an optional bonus of up to US$75,000 that will be rewarded if a player, after being waived, spends at least 60 days with a team's G League affiliate.

Separately, Yang, 28, said he expected to be getting his Hong Kong passport shortly.

Sources close to the situation also said that "representing Hong Kong in Fiba national team competition was at the forefront of Glen's plan moving forward".

Hong Kong will travel to play their next Group B match against Chinese Taipei on November 21, before facing the Philippines away from home three days later.

The two top teams of each group qualify for the final tournament, which runs from August 5 to 17 in Jeddah next year, while the six third-placed teams will compete for four finals spots in the final qualifying tournament.