LEBRON Lopez is heading to the US to play in the upcoming Overtime Elite League.
The Ateneo Blue Eaglets forward and Gilas Pilipinas pool member announced his next move on his Instagram account on Tuesday as he became the latest young Filipino player to take his act overseas.
The teenager wrote: "I am humbled and grateful to Overtime Elite (OTE) for believing in me and helping me get closer to my dreams. I will work hard to live up to their faith. As OTE leadership said, I will be the first Filipino player to join them. It is an honor that I will not take for granted. I will not let our country down. I will work very hard to represent us well!"
Lopez is the first Filipino signee of OTE, which prides itself as a "transformative new sports league that offers the world’s most talented young basketball players a better pathway to becoming professional athletes."
The 18-year-old played for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark and logged eight points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 10 minutes of play in the Philippines' 76-51 win over Indonesia.
He was the last cut in the Gilas lineup before the national team flew to Belgrade for the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Lopez thanked Gilas coach Tab Baldwin and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and president Al Panlilio for 'helping me at the beginning of my journey."
"I want to say a special thank you to the people who helped me at the beginning of my journey — Coach Reggie and Coach Tab and Mr. Al Panlilio and Mr. Pangilinan and the SBP — they saw the spark of potential in a young kid and supported it," he wrote.
Lopez was reported to be heading to the US to sign with East West Private - a management team that handles the careers of Kai Sotto and Kobe Paras, among others - as early as last year.
No more college ball for LeBron
But he ended up staying put to play for Gilas before the announcement that he was heading to Overtime Elite, which markets itself to high schoolers and guarantees an academic education along with a guaranteed six-figure salary.
The move, however, means Lopez will no longer play college ball in his career.
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