Actor Gerald Anderson will serve as team captain of Pola Pilipinas RPG which will see action in the upcoming The Asian Tournament.
In the midst of his showbiz commitments, actor Gerald Anderson makes time for his other passion as he is set to headline the Pola Pilipinas RPG basketball team in The Asian Tournament, which kicks off at Guangdong, China on April 19.
Anderson takes on the captain role with Pola Pilipinas, which also features former UAAP and NCAA stalwarts Lester Alvarez (Adamson), Jaypee Belencion (Letran) and Brylle Meca (Arellano), as well as ex-University of Cebu player Jayvee Dela Cruz.
Former FEU Tamaraws standouts JR Cawaling and Jens Knuttel will serve as head coach and deputy, respectively.
In an interview on One Balita Pilipinas' Hola! segment with entertainment reporter MJ Marfori, Anderson said that his stint with the Pola Pilipinas RPG squad would also prove beneficial to his job as an actor as it will prepare him for his physically demanding scenes in the action film Buy Bust's sequel, which stars him alongside Anne Curtis.
"Intertwined 'yan sa showbiz. Bumabalik ako sa conditioning for 'yung mga action scenes namin ni Anne (Curtis) and this keeps me in shape," Anderson told One Balita Pilipinas.
Asked if he would be joined by girlfriend Julia Barretto in China, Anderson said that the actress would have wanted to go, but she will be in Jakarta, Indonesia to attend a premiere night.
"Gusto niya pero pupunta siya sa Jakarta dahil mayroon siyang, 'yung sa Viu, may premiere night siya doon," said Anderson, who also showcased his basketball prowess in the MPBL.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview in The Asian Tournament's Game Talk posted on the league's official Facebook and Instagram accounts, Anderson said that the team will turn to "Filipino pride" as its strength in the seven-team tourney.
"Filipino pride, number one. I think, Filipino pride, in a way, siyempre, we're going to be representing our country, our countrymen, 'yung culture ng Pilipino. So, I think, 'yun 'yung number one strength," said Anderson.
Other teams that will see action are fellow Filipino squad Zamboanga Valientes, the Zaire Wade-backed Macau Black Bears, VantaBlack Dragons and Jambo of Hong Kong, Taiwan Mustangs, East Sea Pirates and Ningbo Bulls.
But Anderson and the rest of Pola Pilipinas RPG are not daunted by the competition. Instead, they would rather focus on what they could control within the team – each other, their coaches, the system and the game plan.
"Honestly, it's not just focusing on our opponents. It's focusing on our teammates, the system, the coaches, the game plan. Because I think, that's the biggest obstacle dahil we have a limited time of practice. So ang pinaka-challenge sa amin is staying focused and present during practices," said Anderson.
"It's international level, so the competition is going to be higher. But it gives me more excitement to train even harder and practice even harder," he added.
The team is working double time in developing their chemistry, Anderson told Game Talk.
"We're focusing on the system and team chemistry because we've just met each other here during the practice. So, the number one focus and number one game plan is the chemistry and the system," said the skipper.
The Asian Tournament will be held in five different venues around Asia and a separate one for the Grand Finale.