Gilas Pilipinas rookie: Abu Tratter relishes first stint with national team
Channel: ALLviDeo
Date: 22/02/2018

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Abu Tratter was so excited when he, along with the rest of Gilas Pilipinas, landed in Sydney. Since it was his first time in Australia, the Gilas rookie immediately bolted out of his seat when the seatbelt sign was turned off to see what the country had to offer.

Midway through the walk to the immigration area, Tratter realized he forgot his passport on the plane so he told his teammates and ran back. Gilas head coach Chot Reyes and team manager Butch Antonio waited for him.

"Rookie mistake," Kiefer Ravena quipped. Every member of the team within earshot laughed. Tratter also came back laughing at himself.

"Being excited, being the person that I am, I got too excited so I got out of the plane as soon as I can. I thought I had my passport and everything," Tratter recalled.

"Just like losing your phone, you get that mini heart attack and you realize that you got to get that back. I went back to the plane and it wasn't there. Apparently, it was in my backpack all along. It was a real rookie mistake that day but I was just happy to get it back."

It became a running joke of the entire team and one could even say that it smoothened his integration into the squad. Every time he'd hop on the team bus, his teammates or team assistant Bong Tulabot would ask Tratter if had his passport with him.


Abu Tratter and the rest of his Gilas Pilipinas teammates having a bit of fun during practice. Jutt Sulit/ESPN5
Aside from the unending ribbing, the former De La Salle Green Archer had to perform the normal rookie duties for Gilas, which included helping carry the team's stuff in and out of their practice venues.

But the Gilas rookie is taking everything in stride.

"They have different characteristics that stand out. Their leadership, definitely, but also how down to earth they are," Tratter said. "I'm trying to be a sponge out there trying to learn everything I can because all of them put their own imprint on the team and that's what's special about being on the squad."

When Tratter was named as a member of the 23 for '23 pool, many people were surprised because he did not exactly have the biggest of impacts in the UAAP, especially playing behind Ben Mbala. But Reyes saw something in him and now he'll get to experience what international ball is like against Australia.

"His size and athletic ability were very important to us," Reyes said about Tratter. "When we put this program together, we put Robert Bolick and CJ Perez in the pool and they would have come here except that Bolick got injured and CJ's team reached the finals of the PCCL, which ended last Thursday so the earliest he could join us was last Friday and it would have been too late for him to catch up."