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Matt Ganuelas Rosser is the new kid in town

When Matthew Allen Ganuelas Rosser barged into the local basketball scene, everybody became curious. Each year, several Filipino-foreigners from various parts of the globe come to Manila hoping to earn a living as a basketball pro, most of them coming from the United States. And anytime a Fil-Am above 6'4" appears, all eyes are on him.

But Matt became an instant hit the moment he was invited to join the almost all-PBA Smart Gilas Pilipinas roster to the 2012 Jones Cup. He was just one of two amateur players that flew to Taipei to represent the country in the prestigious event. The other amateur player was former San Beda star Garvo Lanete. Among Matt's teammates in the Jones Cup were PBA superstars like L.A. Tenorio, Gary David and Gabe Norwood, and naturalized import Marcus Douthit. Smart Gilas took home the Jones Cup title, defeating the United States in the finale.

Gilas head coach Chot Reyes likewise included Rosser in the national team's line-up for the FIBA-Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan a month later. And it was in this tournament that Rosser made the curious Filipino basketball aficionados know why Reyes still kept him in the roster despite being a virtual unknown figure in local hoops.

The lanky 6'5" guard got extended minutes on the floor in the Nationals' 85-50 thrashing of Uzbekistan on September 16. He posted remarkable stats of eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Uzbeks.

But it was in the next day that Rosser became the instant talk of the town. Against lowly Macau, he almost completed a triple-double, with 11 points, nine boards and nine assists in Gilas' emphatic 98-46 victory.

"There's no experience like it. There's so much pride when you play for your country. It's such an honor for me. Now I know how it feels to play for something bigger than just yourself. I would say this experience is on top of my basketball highlight. You can't go higher than this," said the 22-year old native of San Diego, California.

[RELATED: Douthit-less Gilas toys with young Macau team]

Aside from being in Gilas' cadet pool, Rosser is currently seeing action in the PBA D-League as part of the star-studded NLEX Road Warriors squad. In NLEX's debut this conference against Erase Xfoliant, Matt collected 13 markers, three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal to help his team notch its first win, 101-71.

Matt was actually born in Olongapo City, where his father James Rosser and mother Gina Ganuelas met. James is a retired U.S. Navy who was stationed in Subic Bay for many years. But the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 forced the Rossers to move to San Diego when Matt was just two years old.

Matt has a younger brother, Brandon, who is currently ranked among the top 60 high school players in the U.S. Brandon is just 18 years old and stands 6'7". He plays the two-guard and small forward positions and is considered the best high school cager in the entire Riverside San Diego County. Despite having one more year left with the JW North High varsity, Brandon is already being pursued by such elite Division 1 teams as Washington State, University of Southern California and Long Island University. His norms are about 20 points and 10-15 boards per game.

When he was six, Matt started to love the sport of basketball. When he went to middle school, his potential slowly began to show. He played four years of high school basketball in Temecula Valley High where he was the tallest player on the team. Scouts from various Division 1 colleges started to notice him. But a knee injury sidelined him in his senior year where he missed 15 games.

Matt ended up suiting up for California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly Pomona), a Division II school. Since he was given just a "walk-on" spot, Matt did not get an athletic scholarship during his freshman year. But he worked hard that year and immediately got the starting point guard spot the following season. In his sophomore year, the Broncos won the 2010 NCAA Men's Division II crown, where Matt garnered five points, two rebounds and two steals in the championship game.

After college, Matt thought about starting a basketball career in the land where he was born. Leo Balayon, a Filipino coach in San Diego, hooked him up with Manila-based agent Charlie Dy. Dy instantly saw a gem in Rosser and recommended him to NLEX and Smart Gilas.

[RELATED: Japeth's US trainer is a Pinoy from Davao]

After seeing action in the Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Cup, many immediately pointed out the similarities between Matt and Norwood's style of play. They had similar body type and height. They both could play the 1, 2 and 3 positions. "I like the comparison. Gabe has a successful career here, which I'm hoping to achieve as well. He's a really good player. I like the comparison. We can be big point guards that can see the floor well. He's also like a big brother to me," said Rosser.

Rosser and Norwood clicked outright the moment they met in the Gilas practice. He also became close with fellow Fil-Ams Sol Mercado and Jared Dillinger, and Douthit.

The new kid in town is ready to make his mark in local basketball.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.

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