ESPN Sportscaster Believes Youngest Filipino On National Team Should Be Unleashed Internationally

Francis “LeBron” Lopez was the youngest player on the Philippine national squad that saw action in the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

The 18-year-old hardly got the playing time to strut of his wares, but all that was because he was surrounded by the best local talent in the country under the mentorship of head coach Tab Baldwin.

But it is a fact that Lopez has been well-hyped since at such a young age. He failed to make the 12-man roster of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia slated for June 29, but the Ateneo De Manila University Blue Eagles standout remains part of the Gilas Pilipinas pool.

Lopez saw action against Indonesia on June 18 and made a good account of himself. He produced eight points to come along with five rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 10 minutes of action.

However, most feel that the teenager has yet to show his full potential.

In an exclusive interview on Sports Bytes Philippines, local journalists Vincent Juico and Brian Yalung got a chance to discuss sports with fellow Filipino and ESPN International sportscaster Aaron Atayde.

Considering it was about the same time the Philippines that downed Indonesia, Lopez was part of the talk.

Atayde shared how he has followed the career of Lopez even at a young age. He knows that there was a lot of clamor from the young cager who drew attention while playing for Ateneo’s rival school--La Salle Greenhills--in high school.

Given the chance, the Filipino sportscaster believes Lopez could flourish in his career by broadening his outlook on the international scene.

“In the US, if you are a five-star recruit in high school, you are being groomed for the NBA. You are looked at in that way. And that is what we need to start doing for our talents in the Philippines," Atayde explained.

"If you see someone like LeBron Lopez, the idea should not be this guy is playing for Ateneo or La Salle or UP or all of this when they get to college. No. It needs to be this guy is good at this level, let’s get him to let’s say a European team," he added.

“That’s the way that the vision needs to be. It shouldn’t be anymore that we need to do this to get a championship for this school or this school. This kid is a world-class talent. What can we do to get him in the NBA? That is the way we need to look at."

Atayde feels that Lopez should consider this move early on in his career. He pointed out how players like Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns entered the league at a young age.

The Filipino sportscaster went on to discuss that time is essential and rarely would players like Facundo Compazzo, a 30-year-old Italian player, could crack the big leagues at a later age.

“When you look at the NBA, we are seeing players that are 19-years-old making it in. Look at Devin Booker. He was 19, 18 years old. You got to get in the league at that age. Because if you get into the league, how many players are going to be like Facundo Compazzos in the league and be a rookie at 30? You are going to have to be extremely, extremely talented, extremely gifted and extremely lucky as well," he stated.

"You have to be able to get here as soon as possible and make jumps that nobody else has very early on in your career."

Lopez has yet to unleash what he can truly do, and it may take time.

But with international attention slowly creeping into the Philippines, Lopez may just find himself making a decision once offers start pouring in globally.