LAST time I checked, the Philippines is not North Korea and is not under a dictatorship rule.

So it boggles the mind why the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) would throw a monkey wrench to former Ateneo Blue Eagle Will Navarro’s plans to suit up for the Samsung Thunders in the Korean Basketball League (KBL).

By denying its Letter of Clearance for the 6-foot-6 forward’s transfer to the KBL, the SBP has effectively doomed Navarro’s potential stint to earn millions of pesos and further his basketball career in South Korea.

As if it can’t get any worse, the world’s basketball governing body, FIBA, also upheld SBP’s argument that Navarro has a live contract with the Philippine men’s national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas.

The SBP earlier said that Navarro’s contract with Gilas Pilipinas precludes him from seeing action in other leagues except the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) because his rights as a pro basketball player belong to NorthPort, which drafted him second overall from the special Gilas rookie draft last year.

Right now, Navarro is no Dwight Ramos or Carl Tamayo who can dominate the PBA in the future. At best, Navarro will be a solid role player for coach Pido Jarencio’s team.

If Navarro does become a borderline star, then rumored farm team NorthPort, will eventually trade him to any of the teams under the SMB umbrella.

That would be the best-case scenario for Navarro because like teams under the purview of the MVP Group, San Miguel Beer, Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots (still a long team name if you ask me), and my favorite Barangay Ginebra are known for giving princely bonuses and other incentives that somehow skirt the PBA’s “ironclad” salary cap.

But that’s a topic for another column.

Me thinks, honestly, the SBP — and by extension the PBA — just wants to make an example out of poor Will.

SBP wants its pipeline of college stars intact and would move heaven and earth to guarantee that the PBA’s future isn’t compromised (The MVP group does have three teams in Asia’s first pay-for-play league — TNT Tropang Giga, Meralco Bolts and NLEX Road Warriors).

A few days back, the PBA, led by Commissioner Willie Marcial (who coincidentally is a namesake of Navarro), sent a delegation to Japan’s B.League to try and arrest the influx of Filipino basketball talent in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Will the PBA’s traveling circus’ next stint be Taiwan and South Korea? And if Mongolia suddenly “pirates” potential PBA players, expect the league to visit Ulaanbaatar too.

Last time I checked too, the free market exists in the Philippines and Japan — and for that matter South Korea and Taiwan as far as the Philippines cagers diaspora goes.

Perhaps, Navarro is at fault for reneging on his Gilas contract. But at 25 years old, how many of us made promises that we broke at such a young age.

The dictionary describes free will as the capacity of an individual to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.

With SBP slamming the door shut on Navarro’s KBL tenure, the high and mighty basketball governing body of our hoop-crazed nation is effectively impeding Navarro’s right to choose the path he wants to thread.

It’s human nature to always seek greener pastures. In the KBL, at a minimum, Navarro is looking at a salary of P14 million a year compared to around P2 to P3 million if he signed a rookie contract with NorthPort.

SBP blocking Navarro’s transfer to the former Hermit Kingdom also gives a disincentive for future Gilas prospects. By signing on to be part of the national team, you might also be signing away your rights to play for teams outside the PBA in the future.

The SBP might be legally right in shoving Navarro’s Gilas contract in his face, but it doesn’t absolve them from doing what is morally wrong.