Matt Ganuelas-Rosser ready to become TNT’s 'junior' Gabe Norwood

It’ll be interesting to see the Talk ‘N Text transition plan this season. How do you keep a good thing going? In basketball, that’s as daunting as doing calculus on two hours of sleep. We also want to see if PBA rookie Matt Ganuelas-Rosser fits perfectly into the Texters’ long-term strategy. More than just providing youth, can he give TNT the continuity it yearns for? After all, he has heard the comparisons before. If Ganuelas-Rosser proves in his very first conference that he is, in fact, TNT’s “junior” Gabe Norwood, the Texters’ shift for the future will be off to a good start.

MH: Just days away from the start of your PBA career, what kind of emotions are you going through now?

MGR: Honestly, I’m just really excited. I’ve been here for two years with the national team and with NLEX and I’ve been watching the PBA for over four years now, so I’m just excited to get the chance to show my stuff finally. I’ve been learning a lot from the guys on my team so I’m just excited that I’m finally playing.

MH: Since you’ve been watching the PBA for the last four years, what about the PBA excites you the most?

MGR: Of course the fans. They’re so into the game and they know the game so much. Some guys might be nervous about it, but for me it just motivates me, it excites me to play at a higher level.

MH: There will be fans who will be for you and there will be fans who will be against you. Especially since on opening day, your team will face Ginebra. None of the Ginebra fans will cheer for you.

MGR: For me, it’s all good. It’s part of the game. I’ve played where I have had fans with me and fans against me so for me it’s fun to play in front of a crowd. It’ll be fun.

MH: If the presence of fans makes you excited about the PBA, what about the PBA makes you a bit anxious?

MGR: The only thing for me is that I haven’t played in a seven-game series in my career. That’s the only thing coming into the season that makes me anxious. I’ve never done it before. Besides that, I’m just excited for everything else. I hope I get to play in many seven-game series. That means hopefully I’ll be in the playoffs a lot.

MH: I like the confidence. You have yet to play your first game in the PBA and you’re already worried about a seven-game series. I like the confidence, Matt.

MGR: (Laughs)

MH: However, you are playing for a team that is known to play in playoff games, semis games and finals games over and over. Does that put pressure on you as a new member of Talk ‘N Text? This is not a team that will settle for fourth or fifth place. This is a team that will always try to win it all.

MGR: It doesn’t put any pressure on me. My teammates are really confident in their abilities. I’m confident in my abilities. It doesn’t put pressure on me and I don’t think our team feels pressure. They know what to do to win. It’s just about execution and doing the little things. Our team is so stacked right now. For me, I just need to do my role whatever my role is. If it’s to play two minutes, if it’s to play 20 minutes, I’ll just stay ready.

MH: Why did Talk ‘N Text get you? What did they see in you?

MGR:  They have a lot of veterans on the team and none of them are getting any younger but I feel they got me to learn during these couple of years, to learn from these guys and to eventually step into a role of a contributor just like everybody else. 

MH: Could you describe the feeling of spending days on the court with veterans who have won championships? Do you find yourself being a little star-struck at times?

MGR: Not so much. I like having the chance to go up against them in practice everyday. The history of those guys just makes me want to work hard. I can’t just go to practice and slack off because they’ll expose me. They keep me on my toes. It keeps me going hard everyday. I’m happy about it. It’s fun to go to practice everyday knowing that it’s going to be a competitive practice and all those guys work hard everyday. It’s going to be a fun practice everyday.

MH: Talk ‘N Text is known for having a special team culture: that it’s not just about basketball, you have veterans mentoring the younger players. Have you experienced the kind of team culture that Talk ‘N Text has?

MGR: The day I got traded to Talk ‘N Text, Jimmy sent me a message on Twitter. He was in Korea focusing on the Asian Games but he just sent me a message saying “Hey man, welcome to the family, it’s good to have you”. That right there, like wow. This guy has so much going on but he still reaches out to a rookie like me. Just that alone showed me that this is not a team. This is a family. Everybody has each other’s back and they all want to work hard for the same common goal.

MH: Gabe Norwood plays alongside Jimmy on Gilas. I don’t know if you’re sick of it that people (people like me) have anointed you as a sort of young Gabe Norwood making it sound like Gabe is 50 years old. How long have you been hearing this from different people at different times?

MGR: I’ve been hearing about since the day I set foot in the Philippines. It doesn’t bother me. I like the comparison with Gabe. I mean he has such a good career. He’s a good guy on and off the court. He brings value to his team. That’s what any player wants. To be of high value and to be appreciated for your talents. He’s a national hero. If I can have half of his career, I’d be happy.

MH: Aren’t you shaken up by the comparison or is it a positive thing?

MGR: It’s a positive thing. We have similar body types. We kind of do the same things on the court. It will be interesting when we play against each other.

MH: Have you talked to Gabe about it?

MGR: I played with Gabe with Gilas before during the Jones Cup. We talked about it. When we were guarding each other during practice, it’s sort of like guarding ourselves. I go up for a lay-up and then Gabe blocks me and I’m like oh, it’s not that easy. It’s like playing against myself.

MH: When people start watching you in the PBA, maybe they’ll see if you really are like Gabe. But what will surprise them the most about you?

MGR: For me, it’s not all about scoring. I try to be a super team player offensively and defensively. I think they’ll be surprised about that. I’m not just coming in trying to do one thing. I’ll try to do everything if I can. If I could coach, I would coach. (Laughs). I’ll try to do the most that I can do to try and help the team win. That’s all I really care about. It’s just winning. Especially on this team, I’m not forced to score 30 points a game. In fact, nobody on that team is being asked to do that. I’m just here to do the little things.