Why Dondon Hontiveros is team captain of Gilas Pilipinas

At 38 years old, Dondon Hontiveros sees the FIBA Asia Championship as his final tournament as a player for the national team.

For him, getting chosen for the training pool was already a huge blessing especially at his age. The last time he donned the country's colors was four years ago, and 2015 marks the 13th year since he was first called to serve the flag.

But aside from making it to the official 12-man roster of Gilas Pilipinas, the Cebuano Hotshot received another special gift: at the twilight of his career, he was appointed as a team captain for the very first time.

On paper, Hontiveros has a huge role to fill having succeeded Jimmy Alapag, who will be remembered as the person who carried the Philippines to a historic stint and a victory in the 2014 FIBA World Cup last year.

The new captain, however, does not think much about the perceived weight of the position given to him.

"Everybody sa team naman can lead, can talk about ano 'yung dapat niyang sabihin for guys to be motivated, to be reminded," Hontiveros said. "Ako lang 'yung nilagay ni coach na parang designated pero everybody can do that."

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said the same thing: a lot of the veterans in the team serve as leaders inside and outside the court, but there was a reason why he named the shooting guard to fulfill the role.

"We really felt like Dondon was imposing his knowledge right throughout the camp," he said. "That's obviously the sign of a great leader - before you're given the role of the leader, you already demonstrate leadership skills."

The American-Kiwi coach said that Hontiveros was not the only one to step up, but he is the most vocal among the players and he commands the respect of his teammates.

"We just wanted to acknowledge the man and the contribution that he makes as one of the leaders in this team," the coach said.

Baldwin added that the Alaska guard took it upon himself to mentor the young guns and communicates with the team on a high level, something that is already in his nature as a player.

"We're really proud to be able to hold him up as an example of what a good captain should be," he said. "He was the right guy on our opinion." - JST, GMA News