Newsome works out with Ginebra but RoS, Meralco also in the mix

MANILA, Philippines -- For first round rookie prospect Chris Newsome, the chance to play for Barangay Ginebra is an intriguing, yet, exciting prospect.

For one, expectations are high for Ginebra, which recently named all-time PBA winning coach as its new mentor for the 41st season.

“If it (Ginebra selects him in the first round) happens, it would be great because that’s the most popular team here in the Philippines,” said a beaming Newsome during Wednesday’s 2015 Gatorade PBA Rookie Draft Combine at the Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.

The 25-year-old Newsome compares Ginebra to fabled NBA squads LA Lakers and Boston Celtics.

“Who wouldn’t want to play for that (Ginebra) team?  It’s like playing for the Lakers or the Celtics. And they got some well-established players like Mark (Caguioa) and LA (Tenorio), some of the good guys I feel I can learn from if I can play for Ginebra,” he added.

Since arriving recently from a vacation cum training in the United States, Newsome had a rare chance to get an invite from Ginebra coach Tim Cone to work out with the Gin Kings.

“The only team I got to work out with was so far with Ginebra. I just came back from the States to visit my family and was working out also, so when I came back, the only one here in time to go to was Ginebra,” explained the Fil-Am rookie guard/forward.

Newsome, who played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles the past two UAAP seasons, said he was blessed to pick the brain of Cone during his chat with the all-time winning PBA coach.

“Tim cone was actually there (in the workout). I got to talk to him and we did some shooting drills and we got to get up and down the court a little bit,” he said.

“They (Gin Kings) have a lot of guards there. So it was nice to get on the court and see the Ginebra culture and just a good feeling to be considered a draft pick by them,” added Newsome, one of 16 Fil-foreign players in the rookie draft pool this year.

Based on the order of the rookie draft this year, Talk ‘N Text owns the no. 1 pick, with KIA, reportedly open to trading its first round pick, selecting second overall.

Rain or Shine owns the third pick, while Meralco and Barangay Ginebra takes their respective turns at fourth and fifth.

Since big men Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario are expected to be named as the top two picks, the guessing game begins on who Rain or Shine will select at no. 3.

Guiao has said in previous interviews that he’s putting premium on size, which could possibly be the 6-foot-6 former La Salle big man Norbert Torres.

Should that happen, Meralco has the chance to shore up its backcourt by adding Newsome, setting up the Fil-Am in a reunion with former Ateneo coach Norman Black.

The athletic Newsome actually played at the Ateneo B team during the last two years of Black with the Blue Eagles.

But then again, the youthful Fil-Am guard said he’d welcome the idea of playing under the Meralco coach.

“He’s (Black) my former coach. Although I didn’t get to play for him because he left the year I came in (the Ateneo regular varsity team), but he’s one of the guys who was there for me when I came to the Philippines,” explained Newsome.

“He taught me how to approach the game and Philippine basketball in general, and being in the Ateneo program, he taught me how to balance school and basketball,” he said.

“I would love to get the chance to play for him, instead of just as practice player because I was then at Ateneo’s B team.”