There is no such thing as Off-Season | The Year-Round Hustle with Cris Gopez and Fil Nation Select’s Mission to Bring Filipino Athletes Front and Center

Written by Jennifer Redondo

Basketball season has come to a close, but for Fil-Nation Select, it’s basketball season all day, every day. In fact, if it has anything to do with sports, Coach Cris Gopez gets no breaks! There is no such thing as an “off season” for him. If you’re Filipino-American, Filipino-Canadian, Fil-Australian and Fil-European, by now, you’ve probably heard or seen Fil-Nation Select all over the world. Gopez and his team have been traveling around the world, searching for the top Filipino talent in sports. If you’re curious, and don’t know what they do and why they exist, read on as we had the opportunity to sit with one of Fil-Nation Select’s founders, Cris Gopez. 

1. Tell us about yourself, Coach Cris. 

I was born in the Philippines. I migrated to the United States when I was eight years old. My mom came to the U.S. to give us a great opportunity in life. We definitely took advantage of that opportunity. I got a good education, but had to go outside the neighborhood where we lived. I was fortunate enough to attend better schools in affluent neighborhoods. I traveled to Bel Air and Westwood. Eventually, I was able to work my way into Bellarmine-Jefferson Catholic School my last two years of high school, which put me in a good situation for college. I was very fortunate to go to a private school because there is no way my mom would have been able to afford that. My mom was awesome, and she did the best she could to raise my brother and I. Kudos to her! I am also very grateful for my grandma too because she was a big piece of our lives. For college, I went away to a very small school of the Cal State system, now called Maritime in Vallejo, California. 

In terms of loving the game of basketball, as a young child I had the dream of one day playing for the UCLA Bruins. Of course, I wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Byron Scott. Watching those guys allowed me to dream big, and it gave me hope that I could see success. It gave me a direction to head towards. 

I got to play in the Philippines as a semi-pro athlete, but that didn't last very long. After a short stint,, I went back to the United States to become a Physical Education (PE) teacher for the city of Compton for 13 years. During that time, I also created  Edge Basketball International (EBI), a development basketball program. 

Overall, I had a pretty good upbringing. My mom instilled the values of good character, respect, love and care. God has put me in a situation where my job is to not only help my community, but really advocate for my Filipino community with regards to sports. 

2. What is Fil-Nation Select? 

At the end of 2018, I had the opportunity to spend time with my cousin, Alex Cabagnot, in Manila, Philippines. At that time, Alex was playing in his 17th season in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). We got to catch up and talk about what direction he was going. We came up with some ideas and thought of different ways that we can help our fellow Filipinos. We wanted to help them understand and be educated about the process of playing professional sports in the Philippines. Not just basketball, but all sports! We started with basketball, mainly because Alex was already familiar with that process.

We came up with the name based on the fact that we are Filipino-American, hence Fil-Am. Since we are not just focused on just one region, we wanted to use the word “Nation” because we are all over the world. And in terms of being “selected”,  that means you're going to get to the top at some point. We put it all together, and that’s how we got to Fil-Nation Select, which was born in 2019. Everything started rolling in 2020, which was perfect timing even with COVID because it gave me the time to really execute this plan that we had talked about in the previous years. From 2020 - 2022, we did some events here and there. During COVID, there were a lot of closed facilities so that posed some challenges during the time we were trying to grow. We had to get very creative and we started small. We did some amazing one to two day events.

We knew that it could be bigger! We wanted to figure out how to maneuver around because there are Filipinos all around the world! We started by targeting cities and countries that had a Jollibee and a Philippine Consulate. I mapped out all of the locations around the world, and that’s where we started to target all of our events. We knew we needed to go to Europe, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East. 

Our mother company is called Fil-Nation Select, which represents all of our brands around the world. We have six main regions: the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. We explore and find talent, expose them to the culture and opportunities. We serve as a resource to educate these athletes and their families about the opportunities to play for the Philippines’ national programs.

We are a for-profit organization. We have an entire team to keep operations running so that we can have coaches and events. We also have a non-profit sector, which is focused on charity and giving scholarships to athletes. On the record, let’s clarify that there’s no millions of dollars here! Not yet!  I hope and pray that one day we do because I feel like there is an opportunity. We are still in the building stages, but we want to become the premier platform of Filipino sports athletes. We want to help talent by giving them opportunities through exposure and education.  

3. What was the biggest obstacle that you've had to overcome along the way while creating FIl-Nation Select? 

I think of myself as the lead of this organization. I see things more like an opportunity. It's a great opportunity because you learn from the things that you do. There are a lot of organizations that probably do very similar things. So the number one challenge is figuring out how to differentiate ourselves, which is why we focus on education.

I'm big on planning because my team is here to execute! I'm always going to work 25,000 miles ahead of you. If you can't get up, that's on you. If you can run with me, we have to keep it rolling. We have to keep the wheels turning. At Fil-Nation Select, we’re focused on challenging ourselves. How do we challenge others and ourselves to be better overall? When people hate on what I’m doing, that’s just adding fuel to my tank. It’s good for me because it just motivates me more. I’m an athlete, so I welcome good, healthy competition. If you understand that, then you don’t take it personally. 

4. As an athlete, what’s most important for you: collaboration or competition? 

As an entrepreneur and a leader for Fil-Nation Select, it’s all sports to me. It’s fun! I love to compete!  At the same time, it’s important to respect one another in terms of what we're doing. For leaders out there running an organization, whether it's sports or entertainment related, I respect it. We have to keep making an impact because there's too many people in this world. We won't be able to handle everybody. If you can be a part of that success of a young child, kudos to you! I applaud you! 

I am also big on collaboration. If you have ideas, let’s bounce ideas. I want people to be successful. If you're successful and we have a good relationship, maybe you will feel called to donate and give back to our organization, whether that’s monetary or through your time. These young athletes will grow up and eventually become future leaders. As a leader of Fil-Nation Select, we believe in collaboration. We couldn’t do what we do otherwise. Collaboration helps us get better as an organization, and now we have directors all over the world! I can’t do it alone, and it’s not about me. It's about how we can make sure that people see the brand that we're creating is unified. We're doing the same exact thing no matter where you are in the world – doesn’t matter if you’re in the U.S. or the Middle East. We’re all one brand, with one mission, doing the same thing. 

5. What are your thoughts on seeing more Filipinos playing professional sports, most of them being half-blooded? 

Being born in the Philippines with a Filipino passport, no matter what, even if you're half European or half Australian… it doesn’t matter! If you’ve got Filipino blood in you, then your bloodline is from the Philippines. My job as a leader is to respect that. I love that and embrace that. People can’t help who they fall in love with. It’s not the kids fault that their mom or dad fell in love with a person from a different country or culture. It’s been great to see these young Filipino athletes loving and embracing the culture. That's what matters to me. It’s especially important to see them make an impact on our community. The perfect example is Camryn Bynum who plays for the NFL Minnesota Vikings. He’s a great individual, and he doesn’t hesitate to collaborate with us. Together, we are able to make a greater impact. He’s loud and proud, using his global platform to show love and educate others about Filipino culture and the Philippines. He’s giving back to our community in a big way. It’s not just for the cameras. This is who he is, no matter what. 

Do more, act more, and embrace it! As a pro athlete, when you claim your Filipino roots, there’s a whole country that gets behind you and will support you. This is because you’re inspiring younger generations that are looking up to you. At the professional level, when you’ve “made it”, it’s important to give back to the community. There are pro athletes in the NBA, NFL, MLB, UFC, NHL that are half-blooded. I’m waiting for the moment when we will see the very first full-blooded Filipino athlete in one of those leagues, aside from Manny Pacquiao.  

6. Should Filipino basketball players consider playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) or go elsewhere overseas? 

As an organization, my hope is to lift the level of competition in the Philippines. I hope that more Filipinos from abroad will rise up to the occasion, whether it be from Canada, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, or the United States. I hope to see more Filipinos outside the Philippines join the PBA to elevate the league. 

Of course you have to go where the opportunities are! The beauty about the Asian region is that Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan are embracing Filipino talent. Now there's even more opportunities, including the Philippines. There are plenty of options if you are talented.  

If you're Filipino, you're gonna be considered an Asian import, not an American import. As a Filipino, you're not going against an American import’s job. You're going to go against an Asian import. These young aspiring athletes and their parents need to know that we are here to support them. We have good coaches with the experience and knowledge to help them get to the next level.

Later down the road, if you decide not to play sports, having a Filipino passport gives you additional opportunities. For example, you can stay in the Philippines for more than 30 days. You can open businesses and buy land.   

7. What advice would you give to kids and their parents looking to play sports on a professional level?

I'm going to give every parent the best advice because I went through it myself! My mom was a perfect example of my upbringing as it pertains to my basketball development, which can be applied to any sport.  I believe parents should continue to guide their kids in a way where they show that they're supporting them unconditionally.  

Playing sports and loving the game are very different. It's just like a relationship.You're not going to fall in love immediately,  but you may fall in love quickly because you're having fun. Maybe the first few weeks, if you're not consistently having a good time within your relationship, you say forget it. 

For parents, it's just like education. Do you get mad when your child gets an F? When your child gets a bad grade, do you get them a tutor to help them improve? Of course, you have to hire professional help to coach them to understand and get better.  

The development of a child comes in so many different ways, whether it be mentally, physically, emotionally or all the above. There are many different factors for parents to understand. You could have a 13 year old son that reads at a 17 year old level, or the opposite. The same goes for athletic ability.  

It’s important to understand how to collaborate and have a partnership with the teacher and/or coach. If I'm the coach and you're the parent of that child that's wanting the best, you’re going to ask me questions. You’re going to ask me how we can make sure Little Johnny is up to par in regards to his development. What can I do to expand his mindset so that he can continue to be the best? The most important thing is you have to find the right coaches to understand the development side, not just about winning. You don’t pay for programs to win. People have to remember you're signing up your child to develop their skill sets to understand how to play the game the right way and how to be a competitor. You have to trust the source, your coach, and trainers that work to help you develop your child. 

8. What is one of the biggest lessons you've learned so far after starting Fil-Nation Select?

Continue to build your circle tightly and really make sure you have the right people with the same mindset of helping your community. It’s not just about the money. People think this is a money grab, but it’s not. I'm going to make this clear here – it’s a service that you have to pay for. Just like any other service, you pay. If you don’t like the service, you don’t come back. In order to know if the service is good or not, you have to pay for it first. If you like the service, and you feel that you’re getting good service, you continue to pay. We are a business and we have to pay our coaches for their time, our operation and  venues, insurance etc. 

At Fil-Nation Select, you enroll your kid so they can compete with other top talent. Based on our events, you can quickly see how your kid stacks up against others in the same age range in your area. You can see the benchmark and understand if your kid is in the bottom or top rank. You’ll see the local talent, and eventually travel to see who else you’re competing with on the national level. That’s your competition! 

The challenge in the Philippines is that they don't have the resources nor the means to travel to grow their talent. So we're bringing it to them. In time, we're showing the Filipino community what it feels like to be in the Philippines, from the traffic, weather, and the food. We give them a glimpse of what it means to play in the Philippines. 

9. What does it mean to be Filipino-American?  

A lot of people always ask me that question –  whether I'm Filipino-American or not. I take a lot of pride in being Filipino. Obviously, I was raised in America. I have an American passport and I also have a Filipino passport because I was born in the Philippines. I’m prideful to be Filipino. I am grateful to be an American. Being American gives me the opportunity to travel around the world with no problems. Carrying an American passport is very strong, even if it’s not the strongest in the world. 

As I mentioned earlier, I am very grateful for the opportunity to have a better life. I am thankful for my mom and grandma for bringing us and raising us in the U.S. so that we could have more opportunities. We have more rights, and we are lucky to have the opportunity and choice. 

10. What are you currently working on?

Right now we are currently diving into other projects of different sports. We are not just the basketball platform, but for all sports like volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, golf, bowling, billiards and even gaming. We want to see kids get that recognition at a young age. We want to share their stories and be a part of their journey.   

There's still a lot of things that we're working on. Our leaders are working together to build a strong program and run the business. We have also been working with other Filipino businesses in the community. We are hoping to collaborate and obtain some sponsorships. If you are or know a business that would be interested, please reach out. 

11. What else do you want to share with our readers? 

Fil-Nation Select is  a driven platform that focuses on Identifying and exposing talent, and educating athletes and their families. We serve as resources to help them understand the journey of what it takes to play at an elite level and to represent a country.  

We’re here to collaborate and support every Philippine organization. We welcome that, and give kudos to all of them. It doesn’t matter if the impact is small or big. We want to be a part of it, and we want to help support others as well. At the same time, we want to be the premier platform to serve our community. It’s bigger than what we have imagined – we are a global brand.

This is the place to be a part of because we embrace anybody with open arms. We love everybody and we want to show young athletes support. I wish nothing but the best for every young athlete out there aspiring to be the next big thing in the nation with sports, and if it’s not, in any other profession around the world. 

We want to try to hit every Filipino community. So far, we've identified 19 countries, but there's still areas that we haven’t uncovered. In the meantime, if you’d like to contribute your time, we are looking for volunteers and college interns that are interested in the sports industry. We will work with you to sign off on your hours and give you the experience that can help open doors and other opportunities. My motto has always been: If you want to be productive in society and make an impact, you just have to do it.   

12. Where can people find you? 

You can find us on social media. We have a lot of Instagram handles, but our main page is @filnationselect. You can find the rest of our affiliates through there. Please follow us to stay tuned on our future events coming to a city near you! 

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Written by Jennifer Redondo

Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose

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