Mike Phillips balances Gilas dream with La Salle UAAP mission

Despite mounting expectations, De La Salle University’s Mike Phillips remains calm and confident as he leads the Green Archers' quest to reclaim the UAAP men’s basketball crown.

Standing 6-foot-8, Phillips also finds himself linked to another challenge—potentially suiting up for Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.

“But I'm really praying, whatever God has planned. If it's God's will for me to hopefully have an opportunity to try out and be a part of the national team, of course,” said Phillips, who previously won gold with Gilas at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.

While excited by the prospect, Phillips remains focused on his current mission with La Salle, a team eager to bounce back after several runner-up finishes in the off-season and a finals loss last year.

“I really love to, I'm gonna give everything I can. But of course, right now, it's really just about staying in the moment, staying in the present moment,” he said.

Phillips fondly recalled his Gilas experience, calling it “an amazing feeling” that continues to inspire him.

“Because playing for the national team is just something that, I don't know, I can't put into words. It's just such an amazing feeling and I'm still sort of on that high from that SEA Games,” he shared. “I still have my medal, it's right on my cabinet and I still talk to a lot of the guys that I was with in the SEA Games.”

Phillips, along with Mason Amos and Jacob Cortez, is expected to anchor La Salle’s campaign in UAAP Season 88, which tips off this Saturday, September 20, against Adamson.