Other than realizing his dream of playing in the PBA, Blackwater's vastly improved slotman John Paul Erram considers it a great privilege to be given the chance to represent the country in the 2018 Asian Games.
The 6-8 Erram was named to the 14-man national squad by Yeng Guiao Sunday night, joining the core of Rain or Shine players, along with GlobalPort's Stanley Pringle, TNT's Don Trollano, NLEX's Asi Taulava and Gilas cadets Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero.
"It's always a great opportunity and a huge honor to play for the country and be under coach Yeng Guiao. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from coach especially since he's a competitor and have so much pride in basketball," Erram shared to ESPN5 on Sunday.
Erram admitted he's been resting the past week due to a bad back, which he has been nursing since the Commissioner's Cup.
The 29-year-old Erram managed to play through it, helping Blackwater capture the basketball title in a tournament in Surabaya, Indonesia last month, while also competing in the 2018 Asia League Summer Super 8.
"God willing I'll be okay because I've been nursing my back, but then, I'm excited to play for coach. I'm nervous because this will be the first time if ever for me to play for our country," he added.
The soft-spoken Blackwater big man has showed remarkable improvement as evidenced by his per-game stats of 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds, along with 1.7 assists in a career-best 29.6 minutes of play during the Commissioner's Cup.
Erram also managed to hold his own against bigger Asian players he has faced in the Summer Super 8 after averaging 11.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 blocks for Blackwater.
Rain or Shine's burly slotman Beau Belga, part of the ROS core in the 14-man national team, has glowing words for Erram.
"Poy is still young, he'll learn a lot more but he's really good and he's very competitive," said Belga.
Even Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy believes Erram will be a more confident player once he returns to play for the the Elite in the Governors' Cup.
"I believe he'll become more confident and will play with greater pride especially being part of the national team," said Sy.