PBA Champion. Finals MVP. Asian Games gold medalist. Life is good for Chris Newsome right now — but the sky’s the limit, and he keeps raising the bar.
Oh, to be in the shoes of Chris Newsome.
Every basketball player — whether a pro or a weekend warrior — has played out this scenario in his head and enacted it on the playground as a kid.
Tied game, ball in your hands with mere seconds left, championship on the line.
You start talking to yourself as if you’re the play-by-play announcer. You describe your movements and address yourself by your surname.
He dribbles to the right, takes a jumper…it’s good! The [insert favorite team name here] have won the championship!
In the case of Christopher Elijah Newsome, Meralco Bolts team captain and Gilas Pilipinas point guard, he actually got to do this in real life.
It was June 16, 2024, Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. The Bolts were up 3-2 on the defending champions and heavily favored San Miguel Beermen, on the threshold of their first-ever PBA championship. The score was tied at 78-all, thanks to an unbelievable three-point shot from June Mar Fajardo that was contested by Newsome yet somehow found the bottom of the net with 5.1 seconds left.
“So was I surprised that he hit it? Not really,” Newsome told The GAME in an exclusive interview. “Was I surprised that he hit it in that moment? That was more of what got me. It was the situation that we were in, how the ball rolled.
“It’s not like it was a clean catch. It’s not easy for a seven-foot guy to reach down, get the ball, bring it up to your shooting position, and hit a fadeaway three with the season on the line. So I did my best to run out there and challenge the shot. I was right there. Big-time players make big-time plays. And that was a big-time play for them.”
The Bolts called a timeout, and active consultant Nenad Vucinic drew up a play. The Serbian coach immediately made it clear in the huddle that he wanted Chris Newsome to take the most important shot in the franchise’s history.
Newsome just wanted a clean look, and he got it after they ran the play to perfection. Chris Banchero dished off a great pass to him as he cut to the right baseline.
“I was able to get to my spot, raise up. All I wanted was a chance. I wasn’t thinking about making it or missing it, but it was more about just getting us a chance to actually try and win. If you don’t even get a shot up, you don’t even have a chance.
“When it left my hands, it felt good. Yeah, it definitely felt good. Once I was in the air, I wasn’t really thinking about anything. It was more just about muscle memory at that point. And it’s a shot that I’ve taken over and over in practice. And a lot of my teammates and coaches will tell you that they see me work on that shot all the time.”
Beerman Don Trollano tried to contest it, but Newsome got off the shot without too much trouble. Swish. Like he said, big-time players make big-time shots.
“Even after it went through the net, it took me a while to kind of like, wow, that actually went in,” Newsome recalled. “I was waiting to hear the buzzer, but it didn’t go off.”
The Bolts had taken the lead, 80-78, but there were still 1.3 seconds left on the clock. They were one defensive stop away from making history.
The Beermen had one last chance to extend the series to a seventh game, and they left it in the hands of Fajardo, who launched another triple at the buzzer to win it.
“I remember I ran over to him to challenge him. And so he had two people on him. Shot went up. It’s hard to block a seven-footer with a high release. And honestly, it felt like the ball was in the air for maybe a good 10 seconds. It really felt like it was slow-mo at that point in time.
“And then once it hit the back rim, I heard the buzzer. I just kind of just stopped for a second and couldn’t think about anything. I wasn’t sure how to feel at that moment and what was I supposed to do in that moment.”
After the buzzer sounded, video footage indeed shows Chris Newsome with virtually no reaction, as if it were just a pick-up game at the gym. But there was a reason for this.
“I kind of flashed back to the Asian Games,” he said. “And I remember the coaches saying, ‘Don’t celebrate the gold medal. Don’t celebrate yet. Make sure you shake everyone’s hands. Make sure you be professional and you just congratulate the other team first before you celebrate.’ So even then, though my teammates were jumping and hugging me and all of that, on my mind was to go shake June Mar’s hand, (Chris) Ross, and, of course, everybody at San Miguel.
“Once I was able to congratulate them and thank them for a great series, then that’s whenever I can really let out everything and just kind of embrace the moment. And I think that’s when you started to see me yell and laugh and cheer and just get really excited once I finished my job as a pro to congratulate the other team.”
Finally, after eight PBA seasons, Chris Newsome could call himself a PBA champion (with a Finals MVP to boot). It was the culmination of a series of personal accomplishments that began in 2022 and marked his ascension to the upper echelons of the league. In the PBA’s player pecking order, he had now made the leap from “very good but hasn’t won anything” to “bonafide superstar champion.”
From New Mexico to a new country
At 34, Chris Newsome can be considered a late bloomer. Let’s be clear, though: the talent and work ethic have always been there. It’s just that the recognition and the championship trophies and the medals and the accolades all arrived over a span of the last 18 months.
In his first few years in the Philippines, Chris was known as Kiefer Ravena’s Ateneo sidekick and later on Jimmy Alapag’s Meralco understudy. Before that, as a kid growing up in New Mexico, playing in his mother Carmelita’s home country wasn’t even on his radar.
In an alternate universe, Chris Newsome would have continued holding down two jobs as a camp counselor and a Foot Locker employee in Rio Rancho, while playing Division II basketball at New Mexico Highlands. He then likely would have followed the footsteps of his father Eric and elder brother Eric Jr., who both joined the military.
By all measures, life was good to him, and he wouldn’t have been faulted if he had decided to stay stateside.
It was Josh Reyes, Chot’s son, who first broached the idea to the Newsome family about their youngest son playing in the Philippines in 2009. At the time, Reyes was an assistant coach with the UP Fighting Maroons, but he also had Ateneo roots.
“(Josh) asked me to come out and try out for a few teams, UP being one of those teams, Ateneo being one,” Chris recalls. “I came out with my dad back in 2010, raised some money to come out. And that’s where tryouts at UP happened and tryouts at Ateneo happened.”
Norman Black was the coach of Ateneo at the time, and he was in the midst of piloting the Blue Eagles to five straight UAAP crowns. Black is a top-notch talent evaluator, and when he saw Chris Newsome for the first time, he immediately offered him a scholarship.
“From there, me and my dad had to talk about some things on whether or not I was to continue to play basketball at D2 in the States. Or is it the best option to come out and transfer to Ateneo? And after some long nights and some hard conversations with Coach Norman and Boss Paolo Trillo, they convinced us that it would be the best move for me whatever comes long term.”
So in 2011, after playing three seasons for New Mexico Highlands Cowboys, Chris Newsome made the long trek to Manila to play college basketball here. Accompanying him was his father, who still lives in the same condominium building to this day.
However, his UAAP debut would have to wait, as, during this time, the league was enforcing a draconian rule that required Fil-foreign players to sit out two seasons before being allowed to play. That meant that Chris would make his Ateneo debut in UAAP Season 76 in 2013. While he sat out, the Blue Eagles won two more championships.
“I think going through that and the patience that was required to go through that, it taught me some valuable lessons as well. Sometimes you got to be patient for your blessing. And that’s something that I was willing to do.”
Meeting the Phenom and the Gilas legend
When Chris Newsome first arrived in the Philippines to check out the local college scene, one of the first activities that Josh Reyes lined up for him was a one-on-one game against an up-and-coming high school player.
At the time, Kiefer Ravena was the undisputed King Eaglet, the UAAP juniors division’s best player who was already doing things on the court that would earn him the “Phenom” nickname.
“This was one of my first times coming to the Philippines,” Newsome recalled. “So to see what the top-tier talent in high school looked like, it was really refreshing and eye-opening for me. And I remember that my first practice in Ateneo, Kiefer was there from Ateneo High School and Josh made us play one-on-one.”
Newsome can’t remember who won that one-on-one game (“I want to say I did”), but what he does know is that he was blown away by this Ravena kid’s talent level.
“I got to see a lot of what makes him special. And he’s a really very, very smart kid. And at the time, you know, it really impressed me that he knew how to play basketball at that level.
“Just the things that I learned from Kiefer is how to be able to slow the game down, though it is a fast-paced game. He’s not the quickest guy, but he’s very smart and he knows how to play at his own pace. And so I watched how he was able to manipulate certain situations with the ball or being off ball and just making his reads.
“You can definitely tell his basketball IQ is off the charts. And so even though he’s not blessed with a lot of height, he was still able to really make an impact on the game.”
The two would become fast friends, and Chris would even vacation at the Ravena residence in Iloilo. It made his transition to life in the Philippines much easier.
Because Newsome made his UAAP debut in 2013, he wasn’t able to play for Norman Black anymore. He also missed out on a UAAP championship, as the Blue Eagles’ run on top ended that year and they failed to get out of the Final Four the following season.
Even though his two-year stint with Ateneo ended without a title, his time at Loyola still yielded something positive for Chris. The Blue Eagles shared the same practice facility as the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, whose leader at the time was legendary point guard Jimmy Alapag.
Chris Newsome would often watch Alapag at TNT practices, admiring the one-time PBA MVP from a distance, with no way of knowing that they would eventually become teammates.
“When I got to the PBA, my task was actually just to be near Jimmy at all times as a rookie. That’s one guy that I really looked up to from a lot of different aspects, both on and off the court.
“He’s a great leader. He’s a great person. And I was able to see during my time at Ateneo, because Talk ‘N Text practices at Moro (Lorenzo Sports Center in Ateneo), I was able to see how he leads, the things he talks about, his points of emphasis, the effort that he gives every single day.
“And just the motivation and the positivity that he gives his teammates and his players. You know, that’s something that really inspired me. And I always looked at it like, I want to be like that someday.”
Chris Newsome joined a loaded 2015 PBA rookie draft class that included Mo Tautuaa, Troy Rosario, Scottie Thompson, Baser Amer, Simon Enciso, Kris Rosales, Norbert Torres, and Aljon Mariano.
As fate would have it, Norman Black was now the coach of the Meralco Bolts, and they drafted him fourth overall in the 2015 PBA draft, one pick ahead of future MVP Thompson.
The Bolts also made one more crucial change to their lineup, luring Jimmy Alapag out of retirement to help guide the young franchise.
“That was a full circle moment to be able to be teammates with Jimmy, the captain of Gilas and just one of the best leaders that this country has had when it comes to basketball,” Chris recalls. “So my job was just to be on his hip and learn as much as possible coming into the league.”
Gifted as he was, Newsome was smart enough to know that he had a lot to learn about the game at the pro level. He was quick and athletic, but he soon found out that those traits weren’t nearly enough to make it in the PBA.
“My biggest learning curve would have had to be learning how to read different types of coverages and scouting reports. So as my game started to progress, teams would do other things to try to make it difficult for me. And it was on me to have to adjust my game to how people are guarding me. And when you’re young, you kind of want to just do what works for you and use your strengths.
“But I think maturing as a basketball player is understanding what other teams are doing to prevent you from being your best and to be able to have a counter for that. And I think it was Michael Jordan that said, you can point out one of my weaknesses and I’ll work so hard that it becomes my strength. And I really was inspired by that.”
The Bolts made it to their first PBA finals in Chris Newsome’s rookie year, famously losing at the buzzer to Justin Brownlee’s epic 3-point shot. At the end of the season, Newsome was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
Alapag retired before the next season, and the team again made the finals of the Governors’ Cup, where they were thwarted once more by Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra in seven games. Meanwhile, Chris Newsome’s personal output increased slightly to 13.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
This soon became a familiar refrain, with the Bolts knocking on the championship door a few more times and Newsome pumping out steady numbers. Somehow, they would always come up short of that first PBA championship.
But even as success at the PBA level proved to be elusive for Chris Newsome, he received a phone call in 2022 that would check off one other important item on his to-do list. It was a call he had been waiting for since first moved to the Philippines.
Gilas duties at last
The text message was from Butch Antonio, then the team manager of Gilas Pilipinas. He asked Chris Newsome if he could call. A jolt of excitement went through Chris’ body. If Butch Antonio was calling you, it could only mean he wanted you on Gilas.
In 2011, when he first arrived, Chris was supposed to don the Philippine colors in the Jakarta Southeast Asian Games, with Norman Black as the national team coach. The stint fell through due to some eligibility issue that wasn’t resolved in time.
“I was actually at the workouts with them all through that time,” he said. “That’s when I actually thought I was going to be able to be a part of Gilas. And that’s when I found out about my eligibility during that time.”
Eventually, after around nine years, Newsome got approval from FIBA to play as a local for the Philippines. But the call to join the Gilas pool still hadn’t arrived, even as Chris had made it known to the SBP that he was willing to help out as a practice player.
Then came Butch Antonio’s text.
“I immediately answered the call from boss Butch. He told me to be at Meralco Gym, 7 p.m. Monday. And then from there, I’m like, cool, Meralco’s my gym anyway. It was a strange feeling because it felt like home. With practices being at Meralco, and then Coach Chot, Coach Josh, the two people that are responsible for getting me here to the Philippines, you know, they were there to greet me.
“It just really felt like a nice homecoming for me.”
This time, Gilas needed him for a tournament much larger than the SEA Games. They wanted him for the August 2022 qualifying window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. There was more: Jordan Clarkson would be suiting up.
“So that was my first window, and that was my first time preparing with Gilas. So not only was it with Gilas, but it was Gilas with JC (Clarkson) pa. So that made it even more exciting for me.
“Like, not only do I get to be on Gilas, but I get to be on Gilas with one of the biggest Pinoy basketball names out there, which is Jordan Clarkson. So for all that to happen at the same moment, I was very, very excited and a bit gigil even whenever it came to being in practices. You can tell I was like really, really just going for it.”
A few months later, in May 2023, Chris Newsome would finally play in the SEA Games 5×5 tournament (he had previously won a gold in the 3×3 event), as Gilas regained the men’s basketball gold medal in Phnom Pehn. He was now solidly embedded in the Gilas program, which was crucial for him because the World Cup, which the Philippines was co-hosting, was just three months away.
“I actually was training with the World Cup team the whole time, and after my SEA Games stint, I felt that I was really prepared for the World Cup and excited for that and going through all the trainings,” he recalls.
“And then fast forward, and I get cut off that team.”
Chris Newsome was the last cut on the Gilas Pilipinas World Cup team, an omission that still stings him to this day. But he still showed up with the team for all their games, lending support in whatever way he could.
“It definitely hurt, because that was something that I put a lot of energy into,” he said. “I didn’t miss any practices, I made sure I was at every single one, and just gave my best every single day, but management and coaches had other plans or felt that other lineups were best fit, and I respect that.
“So I just did my part to support the team during the World Cup, cheering the team on and doing whatever I can, filling whatever role I can, and I think it was that that also allowed me to just take in the moment, be humble, and just realize that what was going on in the World Cup was bigger than just myself, and that was for the country, so I did my part to help, help the country any way that I can.”
Basketball, though, is rich in second chances, and Newsome got his just a few weeks later when he was recalled to join the Gilas team to the Hangzhou Asian Games. Despite having a new coach in Tim Cone and very little practice time, Gilas somehow snuck into the gold medal match against Jordan, a team that had soundly beaten them in the group stage and that was led by TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
For the rematch, Cone had a big surprise for Jordan.
“So Coach Tim made me a starter,” Newsome said, “which was different in the first round that we played them because we tried to go big. He wanted to switch it up and give RHJ a different look, which was putting a guard on him and that was me.
“I was definitely down for the task and Coach Tim knows that and I think what helped a lot was just the support from all the team, they were really just motivating me and telling me like ‘Yeah, you can do it. You can do it.’”
The ploy worked, and Gilas bagged the Philippines’ first Asian Games men’s 5×5 basketball gold medal in 61 years.
“That Asian Games team was very, very special,” Newsome recalls with a smile. “C-Ross (Chris Ross) was our captain there and I definitely learned a lot from him just during that small period with him. He was also our captain for SEA Games as well. But yes, he’s awesome. I learned so much from him as a vocal leader and just as a motivator, so I’m glad that Coach Tim trusted me with that task and I’m glad that I was able to serve my purpose and do my job well to bring that gold medal that first one in 61 years.
“You know, to be a part of something like that, it’s definitely special. Especially when I look up to so many people that came before me and when I got to realize none of my colleagues before me has even accomplished something like that.’
In a span of five months, Chris Newsome had won a SEA Games gold medal and an Asian Games gold medal. The only hardware missing from his collection was a PBA championship.
Changes in Meralco
The year 2023 would bring one more surprise for Chris Newsome. His longtime coach with Meralco, Norman Black, would be taking on a new role as consultant, and the tandem of Luigi Trillo and Nenad Vucinic would now be calling the shots for the Bolts.
It was the last thread connecting Newsome to the old order, for Black was the only pro coach he had known. A new era was dawning in the Meralco camp.
By this time, Newsome was already team captain and about to enter his eighth PBA season, all with the Bolts. From the 2015 team, his rookie year, only Cliff Hodge and Anjo Caram were still around as players (Reynel Hugnatan had retired and joined the coaching staff).
Oftentimes, after a player has done national team duties, he returns to his original team a different person. His confidence, skill level, and wisdom have all gone up several notches.
Such was the case with Chris Newsome in the 2023-24 PBA season. He averaged a career-high 16.2 points per game and was named to his first-ever PBA Mythical First Team. Most importantly, he led the Bolts to their first PBA championship while winning his first PBA Finals MVP award.
“Playing at an international level definitely helps your confidence,” he concurs. “It is a confirmation that you are doing the right things. Your skill is good enough to be at this level, and that’s something that maybe a lot of people don’t necessarily get to see me being at Meralco.
“I definitely feel that reaching that level, I learned a lot from Coach Tim who has beaten us how many times in the finals, right?” he asks rhetorically. “I’ve learned a lot from C-Ross who has won how many championships? So I actually got to see that winning culture firsthand just from being on those teams, and it was being on those teams that allowed me to bring touches and glimpses of that winning culture back to Meralco.
“The things they talk about, the points of emphasis, how they run trainings and things like that. Those are all things that I’ve learned from being on the national team and brought it back to Meralco in my own little way, of course.
“But from a confidence standpoint, it definitely allowed me to fill into my leadership role and allowed me to step up to do the things that a leader has to do. Because it’s like, you’ve done this for the world, what’s one more game? Here in the Philippines, it helps you put things in perspective and that allows me to just kind of fall into my natural self and to just trust the work that I’ve put in for so many years. And so all that was meshing together at the same time it definitely allows your confidence to be taken to the next level and I’m guessing that’s what it feels like to be in your prime.”
And as 2024 draws to a close, Chris Newsome can now reflect with pride on what life has served him up. He’s now a PBA champion, Asian Games gold medalist, and a Mythical Five member. And he has been in a longtime relationship with girlfriend Cam Lagmay, former team captain of the UP Pep Squad.
Life is good, and there’s so much more to come.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it would end up being like this,” he admits. “You know, I’ve had dreams to play at a high level. I had dreams to represent the country. But I never thought that it would play out this way. There was a point where I didn’t have the eligibility to play for Gilas.
“Coming into the league, of course, my objective was just to make an impression and to make my name known. And really, it was just to try to last as long as possible in the PBA.
“Who would have thought that years later that I would be captain of the team? I didn’t anticipate being a captain at any point. And I didn’t anticipate to have to be the main guy for a franchise for so many years.
“And to have trying to bring Meralco their first championship on my shoulders. That was just a big task that I didn’t foresee coming. But just being the person that I am, the competitor that I am, you know, I’m willing to step up to any challenge that is presented before me.
“And that was a great challenge for me. So looking back, you know, I definitely didn’t think I’d be here. But looking at where I’m at now, I’m definitely blessed to be here.”
Oh, to be in the shoes of Chris Newsome.
Text SID VENTURA
Photography KIERAN PUNAY of KLIQ, Inc.
Creative Direction MARC YELLOW and CAS ASEOCHE
Hair and Makeup MICHELLE BALOTAN PERALTA
Official Venue Partner NIKE PHILIPPINES
Sittings Editor ANNIKA CANIZA
Production Coordination ANTHONY MENDOZA
Special Thanks NIKE PHILIPPINES