Norwood excited to ‘have the flag back on my chest’

Gabe Norwood. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Gabe Norwood couldn’t help but smile as he made his return to Gilas Pilipinas, this time as the team’s eldest statesman.

“(Assistant coach) Jimmy (Alapag) even asked me if was the oldest one and I said, ‘Yeah, I guess I am.’ You know it’s weird, but it’s exciting,” said the 32-year-old swingman on Thursday.

“In a country that loves basketball so much, just knowing the type of passion all these guys have, everyone’s going to ask, who will be the next RDO? Who will be the next (Marc) Pingris? Who will be the next LA (Tenorio)? The list goes on and I’m excited.”

Known as one of the country’s fiercest on-ball defenders, Norwood is tasked to do more than what his job was when he last donned the national colors after being named as the team’s captain.

But he is more than up for the task to lead a young squad in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup.

“I felt that I was always vocal. It used to be Jimmy for us, then I tried to be that guy a little bit more. I took it upon myself if they needed someone to speak if we needed to,” he said.

Norwood is also ecstatic to hit the floor with this new batch of youthful Gilas players.

“We have a lot of talent. I’ve been watching a lot of college basketball for awhile, both the UAAP and the NCAA, and these are guys I’ve followed since I’ve been here. Beyond the court, seeing their instinct is impressive, it’s a good sign for the future,” he said.

But overall, Norwood is just honored to have another opportunity to represent the country in what could be his final dance with the Philippine national team.

“It was fun to get back into the system and meet the guys, new faces and some old faces, the coaching staff, and even the utility,” he said. “It’s good to have the flag back on my chest.”