Proud of SEAG call-up, Phillips has more than second gold in mind
When Gilas Pilipinas coach Norman Black was asked why he chose Mike Phillips to be included in the Philippine men’s national basketball pool for the Southeast Asian Games, he kept his explanation short and simple.
“I wanted guys who could possibly be elevated to the men’s team in the future,” Black, a multi-titled tactician in the collegiate and pro ranks who knows talent when he sees one, said.
And when Phillips heard Black’s sentiments, he came close to choking up.
“That’s something. I’m kind of speechless, actually, to be honest,” the La Salle big man recently said.
“I don’t know what to say because it’s really a dream of mine as well as my relatives’,” he went on. “I’m just trying to take things one step at a time. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.”
When the budding big man heard Black’s sentiments, he almost lost his train of thought, almost getting a boost of energy after spending a lot of it in posting 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Green Archers’ 84-72 win over the University of the East in the second round of the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
At one point after the buzzer, Phillips looked gassed up after pushing La Salle into a second-place tie of a muddled up Final Four race with a 6-3 record.
Yet, when the topic of Gilas came around, the young bruiser suddenly wore a smile that spanned from ear to ear.
Playing for the Philippines in the SEA Games isn’t a foreign idea to Phillips, by all means. He had helped Gilas win gold in the 2023 edition in Cambodia, where they faced a souped-up home squad for the gold.
The idea of being a full-fledged member of the National Team, though, is something that Phillips fancies.
Phillips and, unsurprisingly, his relatives on his Filipino side.
So once the December SEA Games roll on, the 6-foot-8 center wants to do nothing but prove Black right and show why he, too, can be a member of coach Tim Cone’s Gilas crew.
“I need to prove myself even if I was already part of the SEA Games in 2023,” the UAAP season 88 MVP frontrunner said. “I still need to prove myself (and) I’m blessed to be in that conversation. I want to prove him right.”
And in usual Mike Phillips fashion, he hopes to achieve just that with the grace of God.
“If it’s God’s will, I really hope to be part of Gilas.”
