WHILE Gabe Norwood’s decision to retire from the PBA is set in stone, it’s not in his immediate plans to leave the sport altogether.
The Rain or Shine forward has again made it clear that there’s no reason to rethink his decision to call it a career by the end of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.
“I think that’s it. 40 years old, I've done a lot in this league and the best way to finish it is with a championship and outside of that, I'll leave it to the young guys,” Norwood told SPIN.ph on the sidelines of his cousin Alohi Robins-Hardy’s win with Farm Fresh over Capital1 in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Tuesday.
“It’s been emotional, day by day, but overall it's been good.”
READ Norwood firm on decision to retire
What Norwood guaranteed was how the end of his PBA career won’t mean that he’ll be leaving the sport for good anytime soon.
May it be coaching teams or even holding managerial posts, the Elasto Painters icon won’t pass on an opportunity to remain a key figure in Philippine basketball at any capacity.
“I’ll just focus on the now. Naturally, there's some things family-wise I'm trying to take care of and prepare for,” he said.
“I would love to stay around the game, in basketball, in any way I can but first, I’m gonna make the most of the playing [time] that I have left.”
High-spirited family ties
As far as being a cousin to Robins-Hardy goes, he’s offered himself to be a steady support system either by watching her PVL games live or simply being of help with encouraging words as a fellow pro athlete.
Now that she’s found her footing for good after her turbulent pre-draft saga months ago, Norwood is particularly pleased with how Robins-Hardy has embodied their Fil-Hawaiian family’s easy-going spirit in navigating tough times.
“Last year was a trying time for her, just the whole process and everything so it's just awesome to see her back in the in the league, back playing here in the Philippines and being able to support her and still be here even given my situation,” Norwood said.
“It's not just myself but just the way our family is. It’s majority of the Filipino side migrating to Hawaii and just having that kind of just attitude of going with the flow.
“You can't control everything and you kind of have to just attack it with a positive mindset and be ready when your opportunity comes and I think she's done that.”
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