Gilas Pilipinas player and Meralco Bolts captain Chris Newsome during a PBA Governors’ Cup game against Phoenix Fuel Masters. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Meralco guard Chris Newsome had quite the busy week.
Exactly five days after his national duty for Gilas Pilipinas, Newsome switched gears to the PBA, willing the Bolts to a conference-opening win over Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
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While some players would be complaining about being given such a heavy workload without much rest, Newsome is a different breed as he’s approaching his situation with a more optimistic outlook.
READ: After soaring into PBA lore, Chris Newsome hopes to make same impact for Gilas Pilipinas
“It’s a lot mentally to go from representing the country then go back to my club team,” said Newsome following Meralco’s 111-109 win over the Fuel Masters at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday.
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“Of course, I have a lot of responsibilities in this team being the captain and stuff. I can’t really afford to take days or nights off. One of my teammates (Anjo Caram) told me earlier that with more power comes more responsibility. He basically told me that he’s thankful that I can handle those responsibilities.”
In the Bolts’ win over Phoenix, Newsome played like he wasn’t fatigued from action five days ago with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds in 39 minutes of action.
This after having contributed nine points and four assists in the Philippines’ win over Hong Kong on Sunday in the second window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.
A few days beforeg, Newsome played a vital part in Gilas Pilipinas’ historic 93-89 win over New Zealand.
Chris Newsome during Gilas Pilipinas’ Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers campaign. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
The Season 48 Philippine Cup champion chipped in 11 points, including a dagger triple that kept the Kiwis at bay for Gilas’ first win in the qualifiers’ second window.
Instead of taking some rest after a grueling two-game stretch for the Philippines, Newsome almost immediately went to practice for the Bolts in hopes of helping the squad rack up wins in the ongoing import-laden conference.
READ: Chris Newsome impresses Macau coach in Meralco’s EASL opener
After all, that’s what great players do in pursuit of greatness.
“That’s what the best players go through. They have to be able to go through multi-tasking, representing the country while going down to their club team. I’m honored and blessed to be in that position. I definitely don’t take that for granted,” Newsome said.
He also credited coach Tim Cone and the national team’s system and said he appreciated the fundamentals more during his stint with Gilas.
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“You really have to adapt your mindset to whatever system you’re running but the great thing about coach Tim and Gilas’ system is they pride themselves on the fundamentals of the game.”
