The 6-foot-7 big man has Filipino fans (and coaches) excited with his basketball talents.
Mason is one of five brothers and the middle child in the Amos household. His father, who played before in the New Zealand National Basketball League, introduced basketball to him and his siblings when they were young—like what many other dads would have done.
But the Amos patriarch, Filipino by blood and hailing from Pampanga, made sure to expose Mason to the Philippine brand of basketball.
“When I was 12, may dad showed me some clips of the UAAP,” Mason Amos shared on former PBA commissioner Noli Eala's program, Power and Play.
“Ever since then, I’ve been keeping in touch with it, watching [on] YouTube the games,” Amos continued.
That league he was watching is exactly where he will soon play as part of the Ateneo Blue Eagles under Tab Baldwin. To Amos, this is no small feat, as he dreamed of this years ago when he was still a kid, watching the games online.
But aside from the collegiate league, he also has his sights on Asia’s first-ever play-for-pay league.
“[UAAP] became the dream, and so did the PBA. Because I’ve always watched the PBA. I watch the Finals every year.”
Entering the PBA as a highly-touted draft prospect may well be in Amos’ future. Right now, the 6-foot-7 Ateneo recruit is already making his presence felt in the Gilas Pilipinas practices.
As one of the 24 members of the national team pool, Amos earned praise from no less than the PBA’s winningest coach and Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone.
“He is a big guy who is an absolute, absolute lights out shooter,” Cone said also on Power and Play.
The praises from the Ginebra coach do not stop there.
“He’s like an Allan Caidic at 6'8. Big body. He has the ability to put the ball on the floor. He’s only 18 years old. It blew me away when I found out he was 18… I thought he was like a 25-year-old the way he was playing.”
It seems that Amos has played so well that he may just make it to the final lineup that will represent Gilas in the final window against Lebanon and Jordan. “He really, really has a shot at making the final 12 because of the skill that he could bring in,” Cone said.
With all these, should Ateneo fans be worried that Amos may only be with them for a short while? The big man says it’s too early to discuss his college eligibility.
Mason’s dreams and aspirations, however, are not all about hoops, and he did share one more goal of his that aligns with Ateneo values: putting a premium on education.
“That’s one goal that I’ve always set out to do. [It] is to finish my education here in college.”