FRANCIS Lopez has definitely come a long way from being called by friends, classmates, and teammates as "LeBron" to living a dream as part of Gilas Pilipinas line-up for its Fiba Asia Cup qualifier against Indonesia last week.
The 6-foot-6 Lopez showed phenomenal and maturity rarely seen from a high schooler, finishing with eight points and five rebounds off the bench in Gilas’ 76-51 victory over the Indons in a game witnessed by a big worldwide audience.
The game was a joy to watch for his former coaches in Las Piñas City, where Lopez first blossomed.
Well before he played for Ateneo in the UAAP, Lopez was the young star of the Las Piñas’ NCR Palaro squad in 2018 - the competition that opened doors for him to play in the top high school programs of the country including Ateneo.
Lopez’s first varsity experience was at Augustinian Abbey School (AAS), one of the top high school basketball teams south of Metro Manila. Louis Lontok, head coach of the school’s basketball team, still recalled the time he first heard about Lopez from one of the volleyball coaches of the school.
“Sabi siya ng sabi sa amin, ‘May neighbor ako, half-Filipino. 10 years old pa lang, 5-3 na.’ Sunod na taon, ‘Coach, kasing-laki ko na.’ Sumunod na uling taon, sabi sa akin, ‘Coach, mas malaki na sa akin.’ Sabi ko, sige na nga, papuntahin mo na,” Lontok recalled.
When the coaches of the school finally saw him, Lopez was already playing regularly but didn’t have the proper training. Eventually, the school decided to take the Barangay Talon Singko native in as part of the varsity team.
“Si Francis noon, 13 pa. Talagang very raw. Mahilig magbasketball pero wala pa masyadong alam. Sa luma niyang school nung elementary, walang basketball team kaya hindi siya nakikita. Wala siyang proper training,” said Lontok.
“Nung first tryout sa amin, nahihiya pa tapos ayaw makihalobilo sa mga players namin before,” said RJ Cabagnot, one of the school’s assistant coaches.
Lontok together with his assistant coaches Cabagnot, Michael Cruz, and Kevin Bracewell, soon found out that they had a kid who was not only a fast-learner but was also growing tall a lot faster than most kids.
“When you first looked at LeBron nung dumating sa amin, he didn’t even know how to dribble. He was just a kid. Sobrang bata pa. Gusto lang niya maglaro. Na-introduce namin sa kanya ‘yung basketball, pagiging student-athlete, at pagiging varsity ng isang school. Nakita naman namin na he fell in love with it,” said Cabagnot.
“Nung dumating siya, matangkad siya, abot siya ng abot ng ring, ang taas niya mag-dribble. Makikita mo may tira, malaki kamay, pero wala pang galaw. Pero habang tine-training mo siya, kapag nagdi-drills siya, ‘yung lay-up niya, paganda ng paganda, hanggang sa Intrams niya, windmill na ‘yung salpak niya. Talagang masha-shock ka talaga,” said Lontok.
Even before his Gilas stint, Lopez was already used to being the youngest in a team. At Las Pinas, his promise was so great as a seventh grader that he gained a spot in a 15-under age group tournament.
“’Yung athleticism at lakas ng katawan, parang in-born na sa kanya. Mabilis mag-pick up ‘yung laro, mabilis matuto, mabilis siyang gumagaling," said Lontok, adding his improvement as a player kept pace with the growth of his body.
"Nung una, 15-under lang namin siya nilagay pero puwede pa siya sa elementary dahil Grade 7 siya. Talagang na-dominate na niya talaga dahil may height. ‘Yung bilis ng development niya sa game at saka ‘yung bilis ng paglaki niya, pareho.”
“By the time natapos na niya ‘yung Grade 7 sa amin, 6-3 na siya. Ang laki na ni Francis,” said Lontok.
Aside from his skills, Lopez also began to develop his competitiveness on the court. Coaches admitted there were times during their days that Lopez would cry after a disappointing loss or a bad game.
“Kunwari scrimmage namin, natatalo, sa mga games namin, kapag hindi maganda pinakita niya,” said Cabagnot. “Talagang batang-bata siya before.”
Why LeBron?
Filipino basketball fans now call him LeBron, but for those close to him, he is Francis. He became LeBron, however, not necessarily because he is a fan of LeBron James or by preference.
Lontok said he was already known as ‘LeBron’ by the time he set foot on their school, perhaps because of him being the tallest in their neighborhood.
The nickname somehow stuck until today.
“Dati, ang tingin din sa kanya ng ibang players, LeBron din talaga. Ang tawag din sa kanya ng ibang players, LeBron din talaga kasi akala mo si LeBron talaga eh. Talagang nag-stick ‘yung nickname kasi lahat ng mga bata, ‘yun din tawag sa kanya noon pa lang.
“Bago pa lang siya dumating sa amin, ang tawag na sa kanya, LeBron na talaga,” Lontok added. “Siguro sa village pa lang nila, si LeBron ang pinakasikat na player nung era na ‘yun, siguro ‘yung mga kaibigan niya doon, ang tawag sa kanya, LeBron na.
"Nag-stick na ng nag-stick sa kanya. Kaya niya naging idol niya si LeBron dahil magaling naman talaga si LeBron James… Hindi kami ang nagbigay sa kanya ng pangalan na LeBron,” said Lontok.
He, however, sees Lopez more as a mold of Kevin Durant rather than a LeBron James, because of his physique and his ability to make outside shots on a consistent basis.
“Kahit idol niya si LeBron, mas nakikita ko sa kanya si Durant kasi ‘yung katawan niya, ‘yung three-points niya. Parang mas ganun,” said Lontok.
LeBron discovered at the NCR Palaro
His skills continued to develop and in 2018, Lopez became part of the Las Piñas squad in the NCR Palaro in Pasig City that was composed of players from Augustinian. Despite his young age, Lopez made waves while helping Las Piñas to an upset of Mandaluyong City in the preliminaries. The school fell just short of advancing to the medal rounds.
“I’m proud to say na ‘yung Mandaluyong, tinalo ng Las Pinas. Ang problema lang namin, may isang game kami na nalusutan kami ng Taguig kaya nag-tie kami sa bracket ng Mandaluyong. Nalaglag kami sa quotient… In terms of NCR Palaro, ang matitibay, Manila at Mandaluyong,” Lontok said
In that single NCR Palaro campaign, it already dawned on his coaches at Las Pinas that Lopez's maturity and competitiveness were well beyond his years.
“He was 13 years old at that time,” Cabagnot recalled. “Probably I could say the youngest player sa isang NCR team for high school basketball. When he entered Augustinian, he was only like 5-9, 5-10. Tapos for one school year he grew to 6-3 bago siya umalis sa amin. Nakita ‘yung potential niya dahil for a 6-3 [player], ang laro talaga niya, sa labas. Wingman ang nilalaro niya. He doesn’t play inside basketball that time."
Soon after, scouts began to approach Lopez that he was eventually recruited by La Salle Greenhills.
“Pinagkaguluhan,” said Lontok, when asked to describe the interest in Lopez. "Nung dinala namin sa NCR Palaro, lahat ng schools pinagkaguluhan siya. Nung naglaro kami sa NCR Palaro. Sa bilis ng development, nung nakita sa NCR Palaro, wala na. Hindi mo na mapipigilan."
After staying with La Salle-Greenhills for one season in the NCAA, Lopez transferred to Ateneo where he played for the Blue Eaglets in 2019, earning him a spot in the Mythical Team in just his first year in the UAAP.
Despite offers to go abroad, Lopez chose to stay with Ateneo during the pandemic. Later on, Lopez got the biggest break of his career when Tab Baldwin chose him to become part of the Gilas Pilipinas national pool.
“LeBron is there because we believe he belongs there and he belongs in the future. What he did tonight is a good start for him,” said Baldwin after the Indonesia game.
Lopez truly deserves his spot with Gilas
Augustinian coaches are happy with Baldwin’s assessment, proud that they’ve contributed to the development of Lopez that led him to the spot with Gilas.
“Hindi na rin ako nagulat,” Cabagnot said on Lopez’s performance. “We know naman ‘yung capabilities ni LeBron. ‘Yung progress pa lang niya doon sa atin sa Augustinian, and how he grows up to be a basketball player, mabilis kumpara sa iba. Four years after niya sa Augustinian, hindi naman actually nakakagulat na nandiyan na siya sa Gilas.”
What’s nice about Lopez is that never forgets his roots as he is still in touch with his former coaches including Cabagnot, who spoke to him constantly prior to the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
“Talagang malaki ang naitulong ng Augustinian,” Lontok said. “Although doon din naman siya papunta, ang naging stepping stone talaga niya para marating niya kung nasaan siya ngayon. Hindi nakakalimot. Mabait ‘yung bata. Tinatawagan ni coach RJ, kinakamusta. Talagang alam pa rin niya kung saan siya galing kaya we are proud of him.”
“Hindi niya naman binigo lahat ng teams na kumuha sa kanya. From us sa Augustinian, to La Salle Greenhills, to Ateneo, lahat ‘yun, pinakitaan naman niya ng reason kung bakit dapat siyang kunin. Pinakita niya na deserving siya sa spot na binigay sa kanya (sa Gilas),” said Lontok.
Despite being part of Gilas, there is, of course, still room for improvement for Lopez.
“Siguro ‘yung shooting outside, dribbling niya, siguro court presence and leadership, ‘yun ang nakikita ko na puwede pa niyang iimprove. In the long run, makikita natin ‘yan. Knowing him, kaya niyang gawin ‘yan,” said Cabagnot.
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