CHRIS Newsome is riding the momentum of Meralco’s first ever PBA championship as he rejoins Gilas Pilipinas for the coming Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia.
The 33-year-old Newsome only took a brief rest after the Philippine Cup Finals before coming on board with the national team over the weekend for their three-day, closed-door training camp at Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.
But even during that quick respite, the Meralco main man kept working out on the gym to keep that energy going after giving the Bolts their very first title in franchise history.
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“I stayed in the gym and kept my game rhythm going while I’m already in shape, I’m already in (playing) condition and how my mind is. It’s already playoff intensity so definitely, I’m ready for the Olympic qualifier," said Newsome with Gilas about to wind up its training camp by Monday morning.
“I’m excited to get to work. We’re gonna give ourselves a chance to try to get to the Olympics for the country.”
The Fil-Am guard out of Ateneo has been on a roll over the last 13 months, winning gold medals with Gilas in both the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in October.
And just last week, Newsome ended his search for that elusive PBA championship after the Bolts beat the highly-favored San Miguel Beermen in six games in the finals.
Will luck continue to smile on him all the way to the Paris Olympic qualifier?
Newsome hopes so, but he knows it’s definitely not going to be easy.
The Philippines is bracketed in Group A along with host country Latvia and Georgia, while Group B has Cameroon, Brazil, and Montenegro.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the crossover semis. The two surviving teams will then play in a winner-take-all for the rights to qualify to the Paris Olympiad.
“It’s going to be really tough,” admitted Newsome, named the PBA Press Corps Finals MVP. “Latvia we all know what it is capable of. We saw their World Cup performance. They’re not gonna have (Kristaps) Porzingis, but they’re still going to be a stacked team.”
Latvia finished a strong fifth during its maiden World Cup appearance in Manila last year.
The team earned the moniker ‘giant slayer’ during the quadrennial showcase after toppling powerhouse France and Spain during the group stage.
While it fell to eventual champion Germany in the quarterfinals, it beat Italy and Lithuania in the classification phase to finish at fifth place overall.
Newsome keeping the faith
Despite the daunting task, Newsome is keeping his faith with Gilas.
“It’s gonna be really on us, getting our practice sessions in, and re-adjusting to the system that we’re running with coach Tim,” he said.
Gilas Pilipinas will leave for Europe on Tuesday night to play a pair of friendlies against Turkey and Poland.
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