God did: How faith fuels Mike Phillips’ basketball career

MANILA, Philippines – There is more to basketball than winning for former La Salle Green Archers stalwart Mike Phillips.

Sure, he has captured two championships, earned three Mythical Team selections, and bagged a Finals MVP award throughout his five-year run in the UAAP, but the sport is also an instrument for the Filipino-American big man to profess his faith. 

“I kind of like to say I’m just a missionary playing basketball,” Phillips told Rappler. “My purpose is really to just try to help inspire and try to help people kind of find Jesus how I did.”

Phillips always grabs the opportunity to give God the glory.

Even after steering the Green Archers to the Season 88 crown and getting named Finals MVP as he delivered an inspired 25-point, 18-rebound effort in the do-or-die Game 3 against the UP Fighting Maroons, Phillips called Jesus the “real MVP” and “real champion.”

For the 23-year-old Phillips, all his success and triumphs would not have been possible without Christ.

“I couldn’t have planned anything that happened, and the best decision I made is to really follow Him and really have my own relationship with Him. I really just try to put my trust in Him, and He’s taken me places I never ever dreamed of,” said Phillips.

Christ mode

Phillips’ faith has also changed the way he plays for the better.

Although he grew up in a “strong” Christian household, Phillips learned from his father to always go full “beast mode” whenever he is on the court. 

It showed in his game, with Phillips’ competitive drive translating into his boundless energy and relentless motor — qualities that stand out when he crashes the boards or chases a loose ball. 

But over time, that approach took a toll on Phillips, both mentally and physically. 

“I would say I was a player that was really kind of driven by anger and pride. There’s a lot of points, really, that I had too much energy, too much anger, too much pride, and it usually ended up in me getting hurt and not really having control of myself in the games,” he said. 

“Even if we win, I would feel sort of mentally exhausted after.”

Phillips said he has suffered at least five concussions during games, all due to his recklessness and lack of emotional control.

Those brain injuries meant time away from the court, so Phillips knew he had to make a switch. 

“Instead of beast mode, we call it Christ mode, where, instead of getting so hyped up, we just stay real calm before the game, we meditate, we read the Bible, and we just worship. After that, my mind was so clear in a game. The decisions were so clear, my mind was so clear,” he said.

‘God, show me’

Phillips said he has a long way to go when it comes to his faith, acknowledging that he still succumbs to his flaws.

Just like when he was appointed as the Green Archers’ team captain for Season 88, Phillips admitted that his pride got the better of him, causing him to overstep with his teammates.

“I would kind of overdo my anger and my competitiveness, and I saw that it actually brought negativity and brought them down. For me, I thought I was trying to bring the best out of them and really challenge them, but there’s a way to do it, and I wasn’t doing it right. I was bringing the team down; I was bringing their experience down. That’s when I tried to shift,” Phillips said. 

“I’m still working on it. I still have a lot of pride, but I think the biggest thing is going to the Lord and just praying for humility, [asking Him to] change my heart, and taking it day by day.”

Phillips’ faith was also tested when teammates Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan suffered identical knee injuries in back-to-back games in the middle of Season 88, which put the Green Archers’ title aspirations in jeopardy. 

It felt like the whole world was crashing down on Phillips, who sought to lead La Salle to another championship before leaving the school, especially after the team fell short of the title in Season 87. 

But by some divine intervention, the Green Archers got the job done as they rose from the fourth seed en route to dethroning the Fighting Maroons, with Amos and Baclaan both coming back from their injuries and playing key roles in the finals alongside Phillips. 

“I said, ‘Lord, I’m completely drained.’ I kept hearing Kean’s scream, I kept hearing Mason and everybody in my memories and seeing him on the floor,” said Phillips. 

“I really was just, ‘How could this happen?’ A lot of times, God was really quiet. That’s when I think that, during many periods of testing, God is quiet and He really tries to learn our hearts.”

“I had to meet God in that quietness. If he’s quiet, that means He wants you to be quiet with Him. I had to sit down, just go cut everything off, and just sit and pray with Him and say, ‘God, show me. I don’t know what I’m doing, I have no idea what you’re doing, but I trust you.’ That’s all he looks for in those moments.”

After a storybook ending to his UAAP career, Phillips looks forward to representing Gilas Pilipinas as he aims to give back to the country where he found his purpose.

Phillips can now play for the national team as a local after initially being considered by FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, as a naturalized player. 

“The reason I’m so eager to play for the Philippines, and I’m just so passionate because the Philippines has just taken so much care of me and given me my purpose in life, my passion in life. That’s why every game, I want to show that passion and love for the Philippines and good,” he said. 

And that mission still includes spreading God’s love. 

“I’m still young in my faith. I’m by no means perfect or a teacher, but I just want people to kind of feel that love that I felt that got me through my toughest times,” said Phillips. – Rappler.com