SUBIC - Andrew Harris went under the radar after playing out his years for the University of the Philippines in the UAAP.
A player his size could have been serviceable to teams in the PBA, but Harris decided not to apply for the draft in 2016.
Three years later, the 6-foot-4 center resurfaced as news of him representing the country in the 30th Southeast Asian Games broke out.
Albeit in a different sport.
Harris is now part of the Philippine handball team vying for the gold medal in the biennial meet here. He's been part of the squad since April.
Switching sports requires one to undergo a bevy of adjustments, but the transition from basketball to handball has been smooth for Harris.
"It feels amazing. Treatment's amazing. Everywhere you go people take pictures of you. It's kinda similar when I was a basketball player," he told a few reporters covering the Games here.
"It's nice how they take pictures of you and recognize you for a different sport, especially this sport is pretty much new in the Philippines. I'm just glad it's getting the exposure its getting."
Harris has led the team to a rousing 2-0 start, before the team bowed to top-ranked Vietnam on Tuesday at the converted Subic Tennis Court.
But the quest for a gold is still alive. The Philippines has to beat powerhouse Thailand on Wednesday and Indonesia to pull the rug from under Vietnam.
The chances are slim, though. But the Fil-Am is just proud of the work they put in for the regional meet.
"Well, as long as we know we gave our all, we're okay. That's world class talent right there, Vietnam is top ranked in the world when it comes to handball," he said.
His fans, though, will have get used to the sight of him hitting the sandcourt because it doesn't seem that he will be returning to baskeball soon.
"I don't know. It really depends. I'm enjoying this now," said Harris, who is also finishing his thesis at the UP Graduate School. "As of now I don't have plans of returning to basketball."