DALPH Panopio would have loved to join the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup.
The 6-foot-1 guard has even had discussions with national coach Tab Baldwin and his former youth team mentor Sandy Arespacochaga on the prospects of entering the bubble with the rest of the youthful crew at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba.
"I talked to coach Tab before their bubble and to coach Sandy, and they're asking me about my schedules in my program because they wanted me to go there. And I gave them my coach's number," he told Spin.ph.
Unfortunately, Panopio's schedule won't let him.
Gilas is set to re-enter the Calambubble next week to start its preparations for the continental showpiece set to be hosted by Indonesia in August.
Panopio, on the other hand, is about to start his freshman year with Cal State Bakersfield, leaving the Rome-based playmaker no choice but to beg off from national team duty.
"I think they talked to my coach [Rod Barnes]. But with my school, I'm about to start in September. The thing is I don't have enough time to do school and I feel like there's gonna be conflict," he said.
Panopio, 21, is set to play his first season with the Roadrunners after spending the past season with South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas and averaging 8.1 points on 44-percent shooting from threes, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 23.4 minutes.
"This is my freshman year. I talked to my coach and I told him that I really want to go there. And he also said that there's no problem for me to go and he also wants me to go there, too," he said.
"But the thing is for now with COVID-19, it's too hard. I got vaccinated, but I don't know if I have to go quarantine because I can't afford to stay two weeks off because that's gonna be too late for me. So for now, it's hard."
It's a tough situation for Panopio, especially as he is aching to redeem himself from a pedestrian showing in the 2019 Fiba Under-19 World Cup in Greece where he only netted 5.0 points, 2.6 boards, and 1.4 assists in 16.4 minutes.
"Last time I went to the Under-19 [natkonal team], I didn't do too much," he rued of what he noted. "I got an injury before that tournament so I wasn't really in shape and I didn't have much time."
Panopio happy for 'Batang Gilas' pals
Yet Panopio couldn't help but feel happy for the young Gilas team, all the more for his former teammates in the youth squad, namely Kai Sotto, Carl Tamayo, and Geo Chiu, who were all part of the seniors team pool for the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers and the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.
"I was watching the game from the locker and I was watching the Philippines, I watched the game against Serbia and I watched the game against Korea where SJ [Belangel] shot the three. And I was happy even if I wasn't there," he said.
"I was really surprised to see them playing in the senior team and how much they've improved as players. I like all of them. I like Kai, I like Carl, I like Geo, cause they're nice people, good friends, good teammates, and I'm happy with them representing the country in the senior's team at a young age. That's really like a big thing for them."
Seeing the promise of the young group only fuels Panopio's desire to wear the national tri-colors in the future, believing that he could further add depth to Gilas' backcourt.
"I really want to join that team. I want to play with them, help, and everything. They really did a good job and I'm proud of them playing the right way to show people that we can compete at this level," he said.
"It's something that I always wanted to do besides coming to play in America, to represent my country. We'll see in the future."
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