Due to his steady shooting, national team newcomer Matthew Wright has become one of the vital cogs of Gilas Pilipinas in the SEABA Championship.
Wright, who is averaging 12.5 points on 57.9 percent shooting, has proven so far that he deserves his spot in Gilas Pilipinas.
His coach at Phoenix, Ariel Vanguardia, couldn’t be prouder of his player.
“Knowing him and because I’ve coached him, I’ve been trying to recruit him nung college pa lang. I knew what he’s capable of doing. At least nava-validate na yung pagkuha sa kanya. It means we made the right choice. Wright choice,” Vanguardia told sportswriters.
Vanguardia recounted that he had to “do a lot of convincing” for Phoenix to pick him in the Gilas cadets special draft.
“Medyo skeptical sila kasi nga baka daw player ko lang daw kasi sa ABL kaya gusto kong kunin sa draft. Pero ngayon nava-validate na na he’s the right man for Phoenix’s future. I’m happy with his performance,” he said.
“Colach Chot played him at the point guard spot also. He’s developing din. We’re proud he’s represented us sa Gilas. Yung sacrifice nung team playing without him, hindi na ganun kasakit na.”
On Saturday, Wright finished with 13 points and helped Gilas Pilipinas notch its second straight win in as many games with a 113-66 victory over Singapore.
“Given that he can shoot, ang maganda sa kanya he could also create. There were a couple of times he had created, Yun yung strength. He has played in France as an import, so alam niya yung international game. He also played in Malaysia also, FIBA rules rin yun. I think in the international game, he’s well-adopted. Magandang asset siya sa national team and I’m sure, he’s also young, yung programa ni Coach Chot for the years to come, fit sa kanya,” added Vanguardia.
Wright, for his part, credited the team’s selfless play behind his impressive showing.
“Everybody on this team are go-to-guys in their own rights. Everybody has egos. Everybody has to play selfless when it comes to playing for the country. It’s way beyond personal accolades. It’s for the entire nation. So everybody is looking for an extra pass, looking for their teammates and being selfless,” added Wright.
