MASON Amos calls it a blessing to be able to play under two coaches he considers to be the best in the Philippines.
The stretch 4 Filipino-Australian has played under multi-champion coach Tab Baldwin at Ateneo, and is now earning the tactics of the PBA's legendary tactician Tim Cone at Gilas Pilipinas.
Amos, 19, couldn’t have asked for anything more as the trajectory of his young career continues to shoot upward.
Mason learns from the best
“I look at it as a blessing. It’s not often you get two of the best coaches, if not the best in Asia. Having coach Tab and having coach Tim,” said the 6-foot-7 Amos.
The Ateneo big man reached the UAAP Final Four in his rookie season with the Blue Eagles program under Baldwin.
With Gilas, Amos showed he can play a significant part of the national team’s future after an impressive debut with the Philippine team during last year’s FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Cone obviously took notice of his potential that he named him as one of two reserves in his compact Gilas pool along with veteran big man Japeth Aguilar.
While Amos is grateful for the huge opportunities, he said there’s still a lot to learn, especially playing under two great coaches with different approaches to the game.
“I still got a lot to learn. The triangle offense is a new system especially coming from a different background like Ateneo,” he said of Cone’s go-to basketball system.
“Coach Tab’s system is a lot different. It’s a new transition for me, but I’m doing pretty well getting it.”
Amos will be with Gilas as it competes for the remaining four spots in the Paris Olympics through a tough qualifier to be held in Riga, Latvia next week.
Tringle lessons for Amos
He earned a spot in the 11-man unit as replacement for the injured AJ Edu. Aguilar also made the team to fill the shoes left behind by Jamie Malonzo, who just underwent calf surgery.
Amos admitted it’s going to be a huge adjustment for him especially being among the youngest in the team and learning the intricacies of the triangle’ for the first time under Cone.
“There’s a lot of pressure that comes with it, but I’m pretty confident of my ability to help the team, just be there for my teammates,” he said. “Whatever comes, I’ll take it, whatever I can bring to the table, it will happen. I’m here for my team and I hope we can get it.”
Amos said he’ll cherish this lifetime experience playing in the OQT, the same way he did during the World Cup qualifiers last year.
“I think I gained a lot of experience from the players I’ve been playing with, and from the players I’ve been playing against as well,” he said. “The most important for me is gaining experience and learning from the best. Last year’s performance is last year’s performance. This year is a new year, so I got to prove it again.
“(But) overall experience is great. Learning from the best is something I really want to take.”
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