AFTER the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Chris Newsome wrote comments on each of his Gilas Pilipinas teammates' social media ages, thanking them for their service to the Philippines in their bid for a Paris Games spot.
The gesture wasn't lost on Tim Cone, who raves about Newsome's transformation into a valuable leader in the Gilas program in the years to come.
Cone said Newsome became an important presence for Gilas during the recent FIBA OQT in Latvia all around, stepping up as one of the team’s ball carriers with Scottie Thompson out due to a back injury.
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“Without Scottie, we were dependent on Chris,” said Cone. “That was, I guess, another question that we had. Could Chris step into Scottie’s shoes and do some of the things that Scottie does. And he did but he did it in a different way.”
“He was very calm. He was a calming influence on the whole team. He never was rattled. And he took over that initiator spot. In the triangle, we don’t call the lead ball handler a point guard. But we call him an initiator. And Chris was just a tremendous initiator.”
Off the court, Newsome has also transformed into a leader leaned upon by the young players of the team.
“He is the veteran. He played like a veteran and he was treated like a veteran. All the young players went to him, Carl (Tamayo), Kevin (Quiambao). They all went to him and got advice from him. He was the true leader of that team,” said Cone.
Cone noticed those Newsome qualities as early as the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals where Meralco finally buried the Barangay Ginebra jinx in seven tough games.
The Bolts swingman also showed his poise during the championship series against San Miguel where he buried a last-second shot in their 80-78 Game Six win in response to an incredible three-pointer by June Mar Fajardo to tie the game.
Newsome 'absolutely invaluable'
“Chris played with such calmness and he did the same thing in the semis against us and the finals against San Miguel. He was just the calming factor for that team. Whenever it started to fall apart, he would calm everybody down.”
“So he was absolutely invaluable in that OQT,” said Cone.
Cone said Newsome is excited to go back to Gilas come the November window where the team will resume its campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers with games against New Zealand on November 21 and Hong Kong on November 24.
“The thing that he really enjoyed about this OQT was the camaraderie and the chemistry that went on with the team. He said it was just fantastic being with everybody and he felt everybody felt that way,” said Cone of Newsome.
“If that’s the case, they are going to be excited to come back in November and be with each other again,” said Cone.
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