Larry Fonacier: Joining Gilas was the right decision.

Larry Fonacier has been a big name in basketball ever since his days as a member of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP. Since then, he has propelled himself into a stellar career. Upon entering the PBA as part of the Red Bull Barakos in 2005, he has been included in the season’s All-Rookie Team and named Rookie of the Year. The talented shooting guard was named an All-Star in 2007, as well as Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player and Mr. Quality Minutes in 2012. Presently, he has traded his Talk N Text uniform for one bearing the Philippine flag. Together with eleven other players, he battled teams from other Asian countries to secure a spot for the Philippines in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

In the middle the FIBA Asia Championships held in Manila, Larry Fonacier took a time out to talk to “Sports Pilipinas” host Chino Trinidad about the FIBA Asia tournament and his decision to join the national team.

Read the full interview below.

Chino Trinidad (CT): Larry, itong journey mo sa national team, kung mayroon kang isang bagay na natutunan, ano ‘yun?

Larry Fonacier (LF): I think, mental toughness. Lalo na playing in other countries and here, grabe ‘yung pressure, grabe ‘yung expectation ng mga tao. Kailangan mo talagang i-toughen up ‘yung utak mo sa lahat ng mga distractions and sa lahat ng mga sinasabi ng mga tao. Plus ‘yung sacrifice mo sa family, napakahirap noon.

CT: Kita ko nga ‘yung bond mo sa wife mo, tapos ‘yung kid mo. They're always there. Pero iyon ang hindi naiintindihan ng mga tao. When you’re away, akala nila nagbabakasyon kayo, but to be away from them, maririnig mo ‘yung boses nila, parang nararamdaman mong andiyan sila. Iyon, napakabigat na pagsubok, lalo sa’yo, young couple.

LF: Especially sa wife ko. Naiintindihan naman niya na hindi lang laro ito. Siguro sa maraming tao, ang basketball player parang ano lang eh, parang hindi ka naman nagta-trabaho. Parang nilalaro mo lang ‘yan, pero sa kaniya naiintindihan niya talaga. ‘Yung buong pagkatao ko, binibigay ko sa game. Parang it's more than my life eh. So naiintindihan niya na hindi biro ‘yung ginagawa ko. Siya ‘yung unang nakakaintindi kung gaano kahirap ‘yung ginagawa ko para sa team.

CT: Alam mo ‘yung iba, tama ‘yung sinasabi mo eh, they look at athletes (na) parang mga one-dimensional beings, na laro lang sila. But definitely you have a life outside of those lines, ‘di ba? ‘Pag lumabas diyan, ano ka pa rin eh, tao ka pa rin.

LT: Of course, of course. And ‘yun nga, basketball, it takes probably eight hours a day. Kapag binibigay mo ‘yung lahat ng effort mo, you do extra hours before practice and after practice, tapos magpapahinga ka na. So parang ano rin eh, parang eight-hour job din eh.

CT: Mabigat doon sa inyo ‘yung job na iba, mayroong may mga margin for error. In a tournament like (FIBA Asia), wala ka nang margin for error. ‘Pag nagkamali ka dito, taon ang hihintayin mo, at forever mong iindahin. Gaano kabigat mag-prepare (para) sa isang situation na ganoon?

LF: From day one pa lang, sinasabi na ni Coach Chot sa amin ‘yun. Isang quarter lang kami magkalat, and baka our dream of making it will be over. And talagang pini-play namin sa isip namin ‘yon. ‘Yung training namin, ‘yung sakripisyo namin, we prepare for those kinds of things. Nangyari against Taipei, but we're fortunate enough that things worked out na number one pa rin kami sa coming out of group two.

CT: Mayroong mga bagay na sabi, “things happen for a purpose,” tingin mo ‘yung pagkatalo natin sa Chinese Taipei (noong) Saturday, naging blessing in disguise? In a tournament like this, you can plan all you want pero when things go wrong, kailangan you know how to adjust, dapat mayroon kang backup plan. You know, we were planning to play against China and I'm sure the coaching staff had our game plan for it, pero right now, we're up against Kazakhstan and probably Qatar or Korea, hopefully. So we're back on our track.

CT: ‘Yung game na sabi mo sakin, nag-interview ako sayo diyan, career game, defining moment and all, talo pa rin. ‘Yung iba, sabi nila parang bola ‘yan, ayaw ng MVP, ayaw ng Best player, pero sayo, ipagpapalit mo lahat to (inaudible) a shot of winning that game against Taipei. Ang ganda na ng game mo ‘di ba? Parang ginawa mo na lahat and yet wala sa kamay mo ‘yung bola when it mattered most. Gaano kasakit sa isang tao na ibinuhos lahat and hindi ko nakita ‘yung opportunitty towards the end, to finish what you started?

LF: Masakit ‘yon but hindi pa naman tapos ‘yung tournament noon. Kaya nagkaroon kami (ng) second chance after that. Yeah, masakit, pero we had another game the next day to make things better. Hindi ko made-describe siguro ‘yung feeling kung elimination ‘yun.

CT: Itong natutunan mo doon, sa laban na ‘yon... Nasa iyo na ang lahat, alam mo na nasa zone ka, ano ‘yung itinuro sa inyo niyan? Sinabi mo kanina, mental toughness is what you've learned so far sa journey na ito, pero that particular game, ano ang itinuro niya sa isang player na hinahanap niyo na mabuo kayo as players, not just like the ordinary players but great players? Ano ‘yung natutunan mo talaga sa kanila noong particular game na ‘yon?

LF: Well, that game siguro... I don't want to step on the moment, na-enjoy ko naman ‘yung pressure, ‘yung crowd, ‘yung suporta. Grabe ‘yung tulak ng mga sigaw ng crowd. Sometimes you can use that to your advantage. So maybe natutunan ko gamitin ‘yung lakas ng crowd, ‘yung suporta sa game na ‘yon, and you expect that again tomorrow, (na) hopefully masakyan niyo ‘yung suporta ng crowd.

CT: Itong biyahe niyong ito, itong journey mo na ito, sabi nila this is a process. Going back into the world, ano naman ang mangyayari dito? Ano ang tunay na sukatan ng performance, maybe (of) you as an individual, and sama na natin pangalawa as a team? Ano para sa iyo ang tunay na measure ng success? Kaniya-kaniyang measure ‘yan eh. What do you (think) would be a successful campaign dito sa world qualifiers?

LF: Well, our goal is really to make it to Spain. Galing na kay Boss MVP and galing kay Coach (Chot Reyes) din. But for me, personally, basta binigay mo na ‘yung lahat mo, you did your best whatever the outcome is, you can rest at peace, you can sleep at night na talgang binigay mo lahat. The results, hindi mo naman maco-control lahat ‘yon eh. So for us, win or lose this thing, basta after this we can say na “binigay natin lahat eh. ‘Yon talaga ang resulta ng nangyari.” At peace kami doon kahit ano pa sabihin ng ibang tao.

CT: Alam mo na binuhos mo ‘yung buhay mo, nilagay mo ‘yung buhay mo doon sa moment na ‘yon. Kahit na anong mangyari, you can always come back, but dito sa wonderful opportunity na ito, ‘yung growth mo as a person and as a basketball player definitely got boosted dahil dito sa experience na ito.

LF: Ibang klase. Noong una, bago ko i-sign ‘yung letter na ito, nag-iisip pa kami as a family kung pipirmahan ba namin ito, kung papayag ba ako dito knowing that it can be a risk to your career in the PBA and it'll be taking time away from family. But looking back, agree naman ako, pati ‘yung wife ko, na this was the right decision.

CT: Sabi nila, ‘pag sinabi sa mga player na “incentive” palagi nilang ine-equate ito with monetary incentives, pero para sa isang katulad mo na player, that incentive really isn't it about money, yes?

LF: It's not. Mayroong magandang sinasabi si Coach Norman (Black) sa amin. Nire-remind niya (kami) na at the end of the day, yeah, money is important, but sometimes it's even more important that people just say that, “you know what, you're good at what you do” and they just respect you for being in the national team, for playing basketball and (they say that), “we enjoy watching you because you're good at it.” Sometimes mas higit pa ‘yung compliment na ‘yon kaysa incentives na sinasabi na binibigay ni Boss.

CT: ‘Yan nga ‘yung sinasabi nila na it's beyond just the material rewards - ‘yung pagtingin, ‘yung pagtingala sa’yo. Tama ka, respect at the end of the day. And alam naming lahat (na) you have put yourself, your life on the line sa series na ito.

LF: Hopefully hindi pa tapos ‘yung trabaho. We got tomorrow. Hopefully, with God's grace... And Saturday and Sunday... Sama-sama tayo sa journey na ito.

CT: Salamat, Larry.

-Grace Gaddi, GMA News