PAUL Lee has made a smooth transition to international play, but he didn't do it on his own.
The Rain or Shine star has credited tips about the nuances of the international game from Gilas Pilipinas mainstay LA Tenorio for helping him make the adjustments in the Fiba Asia Cup.
"Lagi nya (Tenorio) sinasabi sa akin na maging ready lang daw sa game," said six-foot guard of Tenorio, who happens to be his roommate in the week-long campaign in Wuhan, China.
More importantly, Lee said Tenorio has warned him about Fiba referees' strict implementation of travelling rules as well as their tendency to call a lot of touch fouls.
"Tapos yung mga little things like yung mga rules sa games, na mabilis tumawag ng foul and travelling din, eh kaya medyo mabilis din adjustment ko."
The sweet-shooting Lee is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per contest to lead Gilas to a 3-0 sweep of Group B and on the way to arranging a quarterfinal duel with Group A fourth seed India on Thursday.
But the former University of the East star insisted he is not out for personal glory in his Gilas debut as he embraced the 'team-first' philosophy espoused by coach Chot Reyes.
"Unang-una, Hindi kami naglalaro para sa sarili namin," said Lee, whose Fiba Asia Cup debut saw him fire 15 of his 18 points in the second half of a 78-64 victory over rival Chinese Taipei last Saturday.
"Para sa akin, kapag nakatulong na ako sa team, okay na 'yun eh. Basta kung ano ang pinapagawa sa akin ni coach Chot, gagawin ko. Nasa mind ko palagi is yung game ko, dapat laging naka-on."
Lee, one of the late additions to the national pool along with Jay Washington and Rain or Shine teammate Beau Belga, also assured he is ready to sacrifice his offense and do the little things, just to help Gilas succeed.
"Okay lang sa akin kahit two points lang ako pero na i-involve ko naman mga teammates ko and nakaka-depensa ako," he said. "nagkataon lang siguro na nakaka-shoot ako."
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