‘Calm’ Chris Newsome assumes key Gilas Pilipinas role in absence of Scottie Thompson

Coach Tim Cone was all praises for PBA Finals MVP Chris Newsome, who assumed a crucial role for Gilas Pilipinas in the recent FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

 

Chris Newsome was a steady presence for Gilas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. File photo (c) FIBA

Scottie Thompson does a lot of things for Gilas Pilipinas, among them commanding the team which is employing Tim Cone’s tried and tested triangle system.

Without Thompson, who was nursing a recurring back injury, Gilas went to battle in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia without a leader and initiator.

Thank goodness there’s Chris Newsome.

Gilas coach Tim Cone said Chris Newsome did the things the former PBA MVP does, albeit in his own way.

The newly-minted PBA champion with Meralco and Finals MVP was a calming presence for the Nationals the entire OQT that saw Gilas upset the host country in the group stages.

“Could Chris step into Scottie’s shoes and do some of the things that Scottie does? He did it but he did it in a different way,” Cone said during a press conference at the Cignal Headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Monday, July 15.

“He was a very calming influence on the whole team. He never was rattled. He took over the initiator spot. In the triangle we don’t call the lead ball handler a point guard, we call them an initiator.”

The original plan was to infuse Dwight Ramos as the initiator. But while Ramos did a great job for Gilas, Cone ended up realizing the role was better suited to the player who just led Bolts to a PBA Philippine Cup title at the expense of no less than San Miguel in the Finals, and Ginebra in the semis.

The 33-year-old guard averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while helping the Nationals carve their way to the OQT semifinals against world no. 12 Brazil.

“Chris was a tremendous initiator for us. We hoped that Dwight could do it as well. Dwight did it very well but we realized that Chris was really the guy who could do it best and allowed Dwight to slide over and do some of the things he does better,” said the mentor with most PBA titles.

“That worked out really well because Chris played with such calmness. He did the same thing in the semifinals against us and the Finals against San Miguel. When everything every thing started falling apart, he would calm everybody down.”

Without Thompson, there’s no doubt Newsome took the role of the leader of the team that had naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee, seven-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, and seasoned national team player Japeth Aguilar.

“He was absolutely invaluable in that OQT. He’s a veteran and plays like a veteran. All the young players, Carl (Tamayo) and Kevin (Quiambao), went to him for advice. He was the true leader on that team,” said Cone.