When they were named to the Gilas Pilipinas team that will face Kazakhstan, the quartet of LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, and Greg Slaughter could not hide their excitement.
After winning three championships together in the PBA, they finally have the opportunity to represent the Philippines together on the big stage.
“First and foremost, I’m very happy na binigyan ako ni coach Yeng and the coaching staff [ng chance] to represent the country after years of absence,” shared Tenorio.
“Plus, may mga teammates pa ako na nakasama dito in Greg, Scottie, and Japeth.”
“Masaya ako na kasama ko yung teammates ko and I’m very proud of them,” expressed Aguilar, who played with Slaughter in Gilas 1.0 and Tenorio in Gilas 2.0.
“Sobrang nakaka-proud kasi nga sabay sabay kami na-lineup. Sana yung Never Say Die spirit madala namin sa Gilas,” hopes Thompson.
Before the fourth window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, it was only a wish to see more than two players from each PBA club team be part of the national team. But each team owner opened their doors to making every player in the league part of the pool.
“We can say that, but anyone from Ginebra can play for the national team. It’s just obviously Japeth, Scottie and Greg are the main [guys],” said Tenorio, who has been with Ginebra since 2012.
Since 2015, the Gin Kings have appeared in numerous Finals, winning three. From pretenders, Ginebra have become legitimate contenders entering every conference.
With three familiar faces, Gilas neophyte Slaughter shared that this helped ease him in to the team.
“We just had a really good year. And it’s nice to have some familiarity with some of the players out there,” said Slaughter.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to get the chemistry with the other guys, so it’s nice to have some people that I’ve been playing with for a number of years out there.”
Though the four do not expecting to be fielded in at the same time, they certainly hope as much. And when that happens, the crowd inside the SM Mall of Asia Arena will erupt to a huge chant of, ‘Ginebra!’
“If magkaroon ng chance, that would be nice,” said Aguilar, tempering expectations.
“Sana. Sana kasi yun nga, I think kung magsabay-sabay kami sa court, dagdag boost sa amin yun,” gushed Thompson, the youngest of the four.
“Siguro din yung crowd diba, baka i-cheer kami so baka dagdag kumpiyansa sa amin. Nakakagana.”
“I’m speaking on behalf of them also. We’re very honored to be representing our country, [and] at the same time representing our mother team which is Ginebra San Miguel,” closed Tenorio.
“Nagpapasalamat din kami sa Ginebra for giving us this opportunity na makapaglaro sa national team.”
