Gabe Norwood was thrilled to make use of his Journalism major as he called two games in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals.
Now that he has ended a legendary PBA and Gilas Pilipinas career, Gabe Norwood can try pretty much anything new.
Calling a PBA game is one of them.
Just weeks after announcing his retirement, Norwood found himself being part of the TV panel for Games 4 and 6 of the recently-concluded PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel and TNT.
“It was fun, it always helps to have a great game and to work the Finals is a special opportunity,” Norwood told One Sports after Game 6, which clinched the title for San Miguel.
“A lot of people would like the opportunity. And I’m lucky enough I got called back for a second game,” he added.
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It’s not the first time Gabe wore the broadcaster hat, though.
A journalism major at George Mason University in the United States, Norwood also did one of Ginebra’s games in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals against the Bay Area Dragons a couple of years back.
Norwood is also into other forms of media,co-hosting the “Let It Fly” podcast with former PBA players Jared Dillinger and Sol Mercado.
Still, the two-time PBA champion said calling the game for the RPTV and the Cignal broadcast is a different discipline altogether.
“I mean, like I said, the game moves so fast. On a pod, you can kind of sit down, relax, go back, edit and do things like that but you have to be kind of on par with things when the game is live,” Norwood said.
“And also understanding when you should just let the game play and not say anything. So, just really trying to understand those instances and how you can impact the viewers' experience the most that you can,” he added.
Nonetheless, Gabe enjoyed a different PBA Finals experience.
“Yeah (I enjoy it). I mean it's something, it's a new challenge, right? You still get to be around the game and share my insight and experiences in a different way,” he said.
“The game moves really fast so just trying to time up things and be a little bit better with that but it's something I enjoy.”
Asked if this is something he plans to do on a regular basis, Norwood would love to if he gets the call again.
“We'll see if I keep getting called back. If the phone stops ringing, that means I wasn't very good and it's probably assign to someone else,” he said with a smile.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.