Still basking in the glory of winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title, Rain or Shine’s Gilas Pilipinas pool members are looking to cap a big year by making it to the FIBA OQT line-up as well.
The Elasto Painters have three members in the pool: Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, and Paul Lee. The players were given five days of rest by head coach Tab Baldwin, and all are looking to return after that.
“I will enjoy this right now. We are strictly Elasto Painters right now. We will just enjoy it. We worked hard for this,” Norwood said last Wednesday.
“I think we will get five days. We will see what happens. We will relax, enjoy these five days, and then it’s back to work.”
Chan and Lee admitted they both have minor injuries to deal with, but both are hoping for the best as they do not want to miss the chance to play for the national team.
“Ako naman, medyo unsure ako dahil kanina parang nag-pop yung groin ko eh. I hope nothing serious, ayoko rin ma-miss yung Gilas eh. We’ll see,” Chan shared.
“Hopefully maganda rin yung result ng Gilas and sa Governors’ Cup, tingnan natin.”
Lee himself said he will attend the next few Gilas practices to observe although his left knee is still suffering from pain.
“Mayroon pa rin (sakit). Namamaga pa. So, let’s see what will happen. Binabantayan rin nila (doctors) ‘to eh,” Lee said.
Though it is a tedious task after going through a tough conference, all three are keen on doing the extra work and try to cap a year with even more accomplishments.
“Medyo mailki pero susulitin, yun lang,” Chan said of the short break.
“It’s something that has been on my mind since the series started. I want to finish with a (PBA) championship and make history in July. But right now, we will just enjoy it, this is awesome,” Norwood added.
