Kelly Williams is glad that the work he’s been putting in to stay competitive is being appreciated, even at the age of 41 .
The veteran forward, who first suited up for the national team in 2007, is getting a call-up to reinforce Gilas Pilipinas once again, this time for the sixth and final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers after the national team had to deal with frontline woes.
“I’m grateful that my talents and my abilities are being appreciated. Since I’ve been here a lot of emphasis is put on how old the player is despite how effective he is playing,” said Williams on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
“I’ve seen it time and time again over the last decade so to be appreciated at 41 and obviously to be able to play at a high level for myself personally it’s nice to be appreciated,” he added.
The national team, which will be playing Lebanon on Feb. 24 and Jordan on Feb. 27, was left with a very thin big man rotation which only has young bruiser Mason Amos and June Mar Fajardo.
The frontline, which was once brimming with ceiling and talent, was suddenly without veteran forward Japeth Aguilar and 7-foot-3 center Kai Sotto. Even Raymond Almazan who was joining weekly Monday practice is questionable for the Gilas game as Meralco is playing games a day before the schedule.
Williams, though, is not thinking way too far ahead, noting that he’ll be ready to provide whatever the team needs – even becoming just an extra warm body in practice.
“I’m always ready for him (coach Chot Reyes), if he needs me. With Japeth and Kai out and obviously big Ange, coach is kinda scrambling. Let's see what happens but right now it’s just the pool so let’s see what happens day by day,” he added.
And although there’s no assurance if he’s gonna be lined up, indeed, Williams assured that he’s always ready to answer the call of the flag and the country.
“We’ll just see what happens. If that's what he needs me to do then I’ll be here but until then, we’ll see. It’s always a great honor to be considered amongst the greatest in the Philippines so If I can be able to suit up alongside those guys alongside those names awesome but we’ll see,” he added.