EIGHT years since his brothers helped the Philippines reach the Fiba Under-17 World Cup, Lebron Nieto will attempt to replicate their feat when he plays for Gilas Pilipinas Youth in the 2022 Fiba Under-16 Asian Championship in Doha.
The younger Nieto wants what his siblings Matt and Mike accomplished in 2014.
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"Sobrang gusto ko talaga," he said. "Noong bata pa lang ako, pinapanood ko sila sa TV noong nasa Fiba Asia sila at sa Fiba Worlds. So gusto ko talagang makapasok at ma-try din yung nagawa nila kasi they really inspire me to do my best."
Matt and Mike were integral pieces of the Batang Gilas squad, under coach Jamike Jarin, that ended up with the silver medal in the 2013 Fiba Asia Under-16 Championship in Tehran and qualified for the 2014 Fiba Under-17 World Championship in Dubai.
Fast forward to now and it's Lebron's turn as he earned his place in the 12-man roster of coach Josh Reyes for the Qatar tilt.
The 5-foot-11 Nieto will be one of the point guards, together with Cebuano playmaker Jared Bahay, for this iteration of the national youth team, much like his kuya Matt did eight years back.
It's a tough assignment, but Lebron is armed with advice from his kuyas as he looks to continue the winning legacy that the Nietos had with Gilas Youth.
"Yung advice nila sa akin is to always give my best sa lahat ng ginagawa ko and always enjoy the opportuity cause this opportunity is once in a lifetime lang," the Ateneo High School skipper said, making the most of the pandemic working out with his older siblings in their home court in Cainta.
Matt and Mike Nieto are the inspiration of younger brother Lebron Joseph Nieto.
"Luckily sa amin, meron kaming court na napapaglaruan. I was training, skills basketball, and then weights after. I can say na mas naging in-shape pa ko sa pandemic since I was able to train twice a day. Wala namang pressure. Wala kaming rivalry sa magkakapatid at lagi lang kami nagtutulungan pag may kailangan sa isa't isa."
Much like his kuyas, too, Nieto only promises to give it his best as the Philippines starts off its campaign against Japan and Kuwait in Group C.
"This coming Fiba Asia, I will really try my hardest to help the team and get the win," he said. "It's going to be challenging pero masaya kasi I'm doing the thing that I love."
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