SJ Belangel has a new end goal – getting a shot at Gilas Pilipinas.
Back when Tiebreaker Times posted its story on the Gilas pool for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ Manama window, the 21-year-old Ateneo Blue Eagle quote-tweeted it with the “soon” emoji.
With six of his teammates – both past and present – in the lineup, the third-year Atenean can’t help but feel motivated to join them one day.
“Of course. Everyone wants to represent the country. Knowing that your teammates are there, gusto mo makasama sila na makasama rin sila. One day, with all the hard work I’m doing, sana mapabilang din ako sa pool one day,” said Belangel, who was part of Batang Gilas’ team back in the 2015 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship.
“Dati na-represent ko na ‘yung country and iba ‘yung feeling.”
Of course, Belangel is happy for his teammates and head coach Tab Baldwin. Despite having limited time to train, they still went 2-0 against Thailand in Bahrain.
“For me, masaya. Coming from Coach Tab, siya ‘yung head dun and ‘yung teammates ko nandun. Happy for them that they are able to represent the country and the school,” he added.
Belangel has long proven that he is a student-athlete to look out for in the years to come.
In just his second year, the 5-foot-11 guard fired averages of 6.8 points on 42-percent shooting from distance, with 2.2 rebounds and 2.07 assists per game. And he did this while playing just 12 minutes a game.
But for him to make the Gilas leap, Belangel knows that he has to work on two things – accuracy and speed.
“For me, siyempre hindi naman ako ganun katangkad, kaya I’m working on my speed and my shooting and also decision-making.
“‘Yan ‘yung mga need na makakatulong sa akin kapag nasa mataas ka na na-level na ko, which is either pro or international. ‘Yan ‘yung wini-workout ko now,” he said.
