Just over a month removed from his 18th birthday, Francis Leo "LeBron" Lopez became one of the youngest players ever to play for a Philippine men's seniors squad in an official FIBA tournament when he played on Friday in a 76-51 win against Indonesia during the Asia Cup qualifiers.
He is the youngest seniors player to compete at an Asian level tournament of FIBA since Jun Limpot, who was 17 years, nine months and two days when he scored 11 points for the Philippines in a 150-52 victory over Bangladesh on September 16, 1989 in the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship in Beijing.
The youngest to be lined up in an official FIBA tournament was Jonas Tibayan, who was 17 years, three months and 25 days at the start of the 2016 SEABA Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lopez entered at the 2:55 mark of the third quarter, and just 16 seconds later, he scored his first basket off a putback to give Gilas a 48-31 lead.
He played the majority of the fourth period before being taken out with 3:56 left and Gilas up 67-47, and was sent back in with 41 seconds left and the outcome already decided.
Gilas program director and head coach Tab Baldwin said after the game that he was not particular with Lopez' age, but his belief that the 6'5 cager could make an impact with the team.
"He's young, he's going to make mistakes, but I thought the most impressive thing about LeBron tonight was I could see that there was excitement there but he really made an effort to be composed, to play composed," said Baldwin.
"And to do the little things right at both ends of the floor. That's a great sign for a young player because we all know that LeBron can be a highlight film if he just goes out there and runs around wild, does crazy stuff," he added.
Lopez was a +14 during his 9:41 of playing time and finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, going 2 for 2 from the field and 4 for 6 from the line.
But what most impressed the veteran coach with Lopez' performance was seemingly keeping his cool even though he only played limited minutes.
Gilas was not able to break away in the first half, with Baldwin giving his wards a pep talk at halftime to calm their nerves down. Baldwin thinks his sermon might have altered Lopez' mindset.
"He went out there and played with so much composure. He was productive. So LeBron is there because we believe he belongs there and we believe in his future. What he did tonight was an example of a good start for him. But only, you know, a drop in the bucket of what we expect in the future," said Baldwin.
In his latest season with the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, Lopez was really like his name sake -- a guy that had the flair for the dramatic with his above-the-rim play. He was also a major contributor for Ateneo with his 16 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game averages.
But, with how the team is run, Baldwin appreciates the fact that the teenager is buying in, and putting off replay-worthy plays for the next time.
"I think we have a tendency sometimes here to get carried away with the spectacular on the basketball floor and the only thing on our program that we want to be spectacular is the results and the performances," added Baldwin.
"With the way LeBron is buying in, we may sacrifice some of the highlights but I think, eventually, long term we'll have a tremendous basketball player on our hands. And I think that's what we all want, really at the end of the day."