YOUNGEST man on the court, but he put up a real fight.
Francis 'LeBron' Lopez was quick to make his presence felt on a Friday night as he played quality minutes in Gilas Pilipinas' win against Indonesia, 76-51. The national team bagged their second straight win of the third window of the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark.
The 18-year-old high school standout made eight points, five rebounds, an assist, and a block within just 9:41 minutes of playing time. Plus, who would forget that iconic putback just seconds after he stepped into the court?
Speaking of which: He also didn't miss a single field goal.
His secret? On-court calmness.
"There's no pressure at all. My performance was just bonus to the team," he told SPIN Life after the game. "What matters is we got the win. We were prepared and we stepped up, and [we were] able to do right things."
Tab Baldwin also said that Lopez made an excellent effort to play a very controlled game.
"I could see that there was excitement there but he had an effort to play composed and to do the little things on both ends of the court," he said.
With a +5 for the night, and an efficiency of 14, LeBron said he's just doing what he's supposed to.
"Just really grateful to be here, and I will continue to do what I do best to help the team," he added.
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