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Young players from '23 of 23' Gilas pool impress Gabe Norwood

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/11/28/gilas.jpg"/><figcaption>Gabe Norwood. File Photo</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Gabe Norwood was a bit late to Gilas Pilipinas&#x27; practice on Monday, as he had to attend a friend&#x27;s wedding anniversary. When he walked into the Meralco Gym, he was shocked at the number of people there.&quot;I didn&#x27;t know the young guys were going to be here,&quot; Norwood said after the national team wrapped up its first practice of 2018.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2018/01/09/this-kuya-s-gilas-pilipinas-35841">READ: This is not your kuya&#x27;s Gilas Pilipinas</a></li></ul>The veteran was referring to players from the &quot;23 of 23&quot; pool, some of whom attended training last Monday. Up-and-coming collegiate stars like Thirdy Ravena, Robert Bolick, and CJ Perez were there, along with even younger players such as Juan Gomez de Liaño and Will Gozum.Norwood, who has played for the Philippines for 10 years now, will not deny that seeing all the youngsters in practice made him feel his age a bit.&quot;Absolutely,&quot; he said. &quot;I walked in late, I looked over and there were about 30 people in here. It&#x27;s good to see.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s awesome to know that I&#x27;ve been a part of the program for so long, and really see it grow and see where it&#x27;s going. It&#x27;s pretty awesome,&quot; he added.Already, the Rain or Shine star is impressed with the Gilas cadets. Head coach Chot Reyes immediately put the youngsters to the test, asking them to run the national team&#x27;s offensive sets after just a few minutes of observing the veterans.Norwood was quite pleased to see that the young players had little trouble in understanding the Gilas offense.&quot;The biggest thing for me was, when we actually put in the offense, it seems like everybody picked it up pretty quick,&quot; he observed.&quot;I don&#x27;t know how much the cadets and the younger guys did with the youth groups, in terms of the offense we were running last tournament, but everybody seemed to come out and picked it up quickly,&quot; he added.To Norwood, it was clear that the young guys were all very much willing to learn.&quot;Guys weren&#x27;t afraid to ask questions,&quot; he pointed out. &quot;If you&#x27;re willing to learn at this point, you&#x27;re in good shape.&quot;After seeing the cadets in action in just their very first practice, Norwood is confident that they will represent the country well come 2023, when the Philippines hosts the FIBA Basketball World Cup.&quot;I&#x27;m really excited for the group,&quot; he said. &quot;Who knows who&#x27;s going to be in, playing here in Manila. It should be an exciting time.&quot;&quot;I&#x27;ll be cheering from the stands, cheering my head off,&quot; Norwood promised.For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

Gabe Norwood, who has played for the Philippines for 10 years now, will not deny that seeing all the youngsters in practice made him feel his age a bit.

Gabe Norwood, who has played for the Philippines for 10 years now, will not deny that seeing all the youngsters in practice made him feel his age a bit.

Young players from '23 of 23' Gilas pool impress Gabe Norwood

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Young players from '23 of 23' Gilas pool impress Gabe Norwood

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 10, 2018 11:20 AM PHT

Read More:

Gilas Pilipinas

23 for 23

Gabe Norwood

FIBA World Cup

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