Despite missing RoS pals, Norwood happy to be back at Gilas camp

Gabe Norwood laughs around with June Mar Fajardo and Moala Tautuaa during Gilas practice. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

If there’s one guy who feels the absence of Paul Lee the most, it’s Gabe Norwood.

Seeing how great Lee played for Rain or Shine during the recently concluded 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, the Gilas defender could just sigh wondering what could have been for the national team to have the Rain or Shine guard in its lineup.

“We’ll miss him for sure, especially coming off the way he was able to perform in the Finals,” he said.

Lee earlier begged off from Gilas Pilipinas due to his recurring knee injury, joining Greg Slaughter and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser in the injury list for the pool.

Norwood knows how tough the decision was for Lee to miss the buildup for the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held here in Manila in July. But he said that one must put a premium on health over anything else.

“My biggest concern is his health. He’s put a lot on his body over the last couple of years and he’s focused on getting healthy. Hopefully, he gets healthy sooner than later,” he said.

Also, Norwood wishes the same for teammate Jeff Chan, who is still recovering from his groin injury and is hopeful to soon join Gilas Pilipinas in its practice sessions.

“Jeff is in same boat trying to get healthy. I think his isn’t as serious as Paul’s situation, but he’s going to take his time and make sure he’s a hundred percent,” he said.

Though he may be facing a possibility of missing his fellow Elasto Painters in the national team, Norwood is still upbeat with the pool’s chances, rekindling bonds with teammates in the old incarnations of Gilas.

“It’s always fun to be back here and understand what the journey is about and what the goal is. If that doesn’t excite you – to represent the country in the Olympics, I don’t know if anything can excite you more than that,” he said. “I’m happy to be here, to get back to work around these group of guys and some new faces. It’s still a little early, but we’ll really see when we get to training camp.”