William Navarro signs with the Seoul Thunders in the KBL, making him the fifth Filipino to play in South Korea in the upcoming season.
Gilas forward William Navarro is headed to South Korea after signing a two-year contract with the Seoul Samsung Thunders in the Korean Basketball League as announced on Thursday.
The announcement was made on a Korean site called N Sports but details of his contract have yet to be posted.
Navarro is bound to be the third Gilas player to play in the KBL after fellow Gilas cadets SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos signed with Daegu Kogas Pegasus and Ulsan Hyundai Mobis, respectively.
Overall, five Filipinos will be playing in the KBL in the upcoming season, the three Gilas players together with Justin Gutang of Changwon LG, and Ethan Alvano of Wonju DB.
The Thunders play in South Korea’s capital city of Seoul at the Jamsil Arena where Navarro will look to be a spark in the team and win more games after finishing last in the K League during the 2021-22 season with a glaring 9-45 record.
The website said Navarro will join Seoul after the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup from July 12 to 24 in Jakarta, Indonesia but his agency, the Titan Management Group, politely refused to issue a statement on the matter.
The 6-foot-6 forward is a product of the Ateneo Blue Eagles who last played in the UAAP in Season 82, averaging 7.3 points on 44-percent shooting, with 5.6 rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
Navarro was then partof the special 2021 PBA Gilas Draft where he was the second pick overall by NorthPort right after Jordan Heading, who was selected by Terrafirma and is now playing Taiwan.
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the constant cancellation of games, Navarro has only played limited games in the past years despite being an active member for Gilas.
His last campaigns for the Gilas were the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, and the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Tags: #basketball, #KBL, #Gilas