Chris Newsome Honored To Play For Gilas Pilipinas As A Local

Every Filipino hooper dreams of playing for the flag. Chris Newsome, who currently plays for the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is just one of those that dreamt of donning the Gilas Pilipinas jersey and bring honor to the country.

He finally got his chance to play for Gilas as part of the 3 x 3 team and won gold at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games held in Manila. Since the biennial event wasn't a FIBA sanctioned event, Newsome didn't have problems being part of the team at the time. For FIBA organized games however, it was a different story.

FIBA's eligibility rules are rather strict and has been a daunting task to overcome, especially for Fil-Foreign players who are interested in playing for the country. One of those hurdles is that Fil-Foreigners need to acquire a Philippine passport before age 16. Chris Newsome, on the other hand, got his Philippine passport after 16 years old. Hence, he wasn't eligible to play for Gilas.

Fast forward to 2022, FIBA finally gave the go-signal to officially classify Chris Newsome as eligible to play for the national team as a local.

Dream. Come. True. Indeed.

"It's been a long, long thing that's been on my mind for a long time. Finally being classified as a local was kind of like a dream come true," the SEA Games gold medalist said. "You know, I always wanted to wear the Gilas uniform, but of course, with the circumstances I wasn't able to and so I kind of let that dream go and just mainly focus on my personal career.

The Meralco Bolts star was very much grateful for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas or SBP for making his dream a reality. His 10-year residency in the country and graduating from Ateneo definitely factored in getting the nod from FIBA.

"I'm definitely blessed that SBP kept working and fighting for me and, trying to find ways to pass me as a local," he recalled. "Of course, them bringing up the topic that I graduated from Ateneo. And, you know, I've been living in the Philippines for 10-plus years. I think that definitely was a weight factor for the decision. And, you know, I'm just blessed that they kept fighting for me, because they easily could have moved on to the next guy said, they could have gave up on me and went for for, you know, for some younger people but they actually wanted me."

With all those eligibility hurdles behind him, Newsome says he's willing to give everything for the country and he'll be ready whenever his name is called, whether he gets some playing time or just being a practice player for the team.

"In return, you know, I'm willing to give everything I have for the program for the country. And just know that anytime that I'm called, I'll be ready," the former Ateneo Blue Eagle said. "Whether that's I'm gonna play big minutes or whether you just need me out to practice player, whatever it is, I'm going to do that. So now that I'm considered a local, it's definitely an honor, and I take that with a lot of responsiblity. And like I said, my only job is to go out there and give my best. That's what I work for every single day but now I can do it. Not just for myself. For my family, but I can do it the whole country. It's a great honor."