AS THE third window of the Fiba qualifiers is underway at Clark, with Gilas taking on archrivals South Korea and Indonesia, their digital counterparts are also taking to the hardcourt.
This time, though, E-Gilas is playing against each other.
The many stars of the E-Gilas team (who, coincidentally enough, defeated Indonesia both times they took the top spot in the Fiba Esports Open) are currently facing each other as Laus Group Esports and Playbook Esports lock horns in the 2K Veterans League Finals.
It seems fitting that many of the key players of the national team are fighting for the top spot of the local league. Teammates in the past three Fiba Esports Opens, for now they are foes, competing for a next-gen ring on their PlayStation 5s. Even Gilas star SJ Belangel is tuning in to watch the series, leaving a pair of comments in streamer Delo 2K’s livecasts of the first two games.
It’s a satisfying turn of events for Paul Laus, one of the movers behind the 2K Veterans League.
A gamer all his life — “I purchased yung unang console ko which is, hindi pa pinapanganak halos kayo, yung Atari” — Laus began to link up with fellow NBA 2K fans on Facebook around six years ago.
“We started small tournaments, pocket tournaments,” he recalled to Spin.ph when the initial group of 15 members quickly ballooned into 50. “It started to really grow from just like I think five teams, and right now we’re 24 teams already.”
Among the initial group of 15 members was a man named Aljon Cruzin. But if you’ve been following the exploits of E-Gilas, you may know him better as Shintarou.
“Si Aljon noon, sikat na siya e,” remembered Laus. “Shooter siya. Ang role ni Aljon [nun], he was very good at shooting the ball.”

From singer to Shintarou
“Very good” may be an understatement.
At the last Fiba Esports Open, Shintarou, who was named tournament MVP, dished out an average of 32.6 points per game as E-Gilas stampeded over their foes. In the the 2K Veterans League, he’s thrown up similar numbers, averaging 34 ppg.
Not bad for someone who had to go to internet shops before just to play NBA 2K.
“Pasulyap-sulyap lang laro ko,” Cruzin said of his early encounters with the game, back when Allen Iverson regularly graced the cover of each yearly edition. “Maglalaro kami ng pinsan ko, maglalaban kami, magre-rent lang kami.”
Shintaoru had no idea that those on-off skirmishes on a rented console would lead to a pro gamer career. In fact, he wanted to be a policeman… or, barring that, a singer.
We do a double take at this. Come again?
“Nung high school kasi talaga ako, sumasali ako sa mga singing contests,” Shintarou told Spin.ph, laughing. “Hanggang sa mag-college ako. Sa school tsaka sa barangay.”
Now, of course, he restricts his singing prowess to the karaoke machines, which he eagerly takes on with current E-Gilas team captain Rial “Rial” Polog, who’s just as much of a belter — and scorer — as Shintarou is.
In real life, Shintarou also plays the point guard position, and told Spin.ph that, before the pandemic, he often played weekly Sunday pickup games with his 2K coach Nite “Nite” Alparas. But the reason he also became a point guard in-game also shows his philosophy towards hoops.
“Paiba-iba po kasi ako ng kakampi nun e,” Shintarou recalled.“Then naisip ko po na kung halimbawa na mag-point guard ako, kahit mag-iba iba ako ng kakampi, ako na ang kakapa sa kakampi ko, kung pano ko sila papag-iskorin, paano ko sila papagalawin.”
It’s a role that he’s succeeded in. In the Fiba Esports Opens, Shintarou is just as notable for his dimes as he is with his shooting ability, quickly reading the court and feeding the ball to Philippe “IzzoIV” Herrero for an alley oop, or off to the wings to Rial for a dazzling three of his own.

Submit to the grind
Like most esports teams, the players of E-Gilas are in a bootcamp setup, their days starting at the afternoons and onto very late nights as they scrim and skirmish and practice constantly, above and beyond the pro tournaments that they also need to join. They can spend up to eight hours a day playing NBA 2K.
Unlike real world basketball, the video games that esports are based on often undergo regular under-the-hood tweaks that players then have to adjust to. For a franchise like 2K, the biggest ones, of course, come with the annual release of every new installment in the storied franchise.
And when that happens, Shintarou said, it can sometimes feel like it’s back to zero, even for seasoned players like himself.
“Hindi mo siya mape-perfect ng isang linggo, ng isang buwan, ng dalawang buwan. Kailangan mo talaga siyang aralin halos araw-araw,” he said. “Kasi kada taon, iba-iba yung animation, yung gameplay, yung meta. Tulad last year, yung meta, pick and roll. Pero ngayon, parang halo-halo na — may five out, may pick and roll, may iso. Dapat talaga pag-igihan nila yung paglalaro.”
Shintarou has seen fellow players buckle under the face of the massive changes the developers bring to the table every year. But that’s part of the life of an esports athlete. “Kailangan talaga mag-aadjust talaga tayo sa kung anong binibigay ng 2K, kung ano yung gameplay ng 2K,” he said.
Shintarou continued, “Hindi mo siya mape-perfect ng isang linggo, ng isang buwan, ng dalawang buwan. Kailangan mo talaga siyang aralin halos araw-araw.”

Dad's day off
On weekends, though, Shintarou can break camp and go home to see his family, including his seven-year-old son.
It’s no surprise that his kid is also a gamer.
“Madalas lang po talaga niyang laruin, Roblox,” Shintarou said, speaking of the immensely popular children’s game that features block-headed, toylike characters and an economy powered by an in-game currency called Robux. “Tuwing off po namin, 'pag Sabado o Linggo, naglalaro talaga kami nun.”
In fact, in a touching Facebook post for his son’s birthday last May, Shintarou revealed one of the reasons why he worked so hard. “I love you,” he wrote in his caption, “gagalingan pa lalo ni dada sa work para may pambili tayo ng Robux mo sa Roblox.”
They say that esports is a young man’s game. But 27-year-old Shintarou is that rare family man in the field. And just like many basketball players (including many Gilas mainstays through the years), he works hard at maintaining the balance between the game and his family.

After all, he’s not just any basketball player. He’s also a member of Gilas — a fact that, three tournaments in, still doesn't cease to amaze him. “Pag alam mo yung basketball, pag mahilig ka mag-basketball, kahit sino pangarap maging Gilas po,” Shintarou said.
But the ultimate dream, of course, like many Pinoy basketball players, is to make it to the NBA... or at least, its equivalent in the 2K global esports scene: the NBA 2K League. Both Shintarou and Rial have come close, said Paul Laus, who has been friends with the two since the early days of the 2K Veterans League, and whose company, Laus Group, has fostered the development of the 2K scene locally.
But as his players in E-Gilas aim for grand goals abroad, the business executive also hopes that esports will spread its roots farther afield.
“Yung advocacy ko kasi is to develop esports in the countryside. Gusto ko naman bigyan ng break yung mga bata sa countryside. Puro kasi Metro Manila e,” said Laus, who describes the Laus Group’s work in esports as “a passion.”
“I want to develop esports in the countryside, particularly north of Manila. Sa esports kasi, wala naman kasing kailangang na physical attributes e. Kailangan mo lang naman dito, skills,” Laus added.
Just like Shintarou.
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