MANILA, Philippines – Former Far Eastern University (FEU) guard Alfrancis Tamsi did not deny that he was surprised to be included in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas team that will be competing in the 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in China starting on September 22.

After all, Tamsi has had a relatively quiet professional career after helping FEU win the UAAP Season 78 men's basketball title. He was taken in the third round of the 2016 PBA Draft by GlobalPort, but is now a practice player for TNT KaTropa.

He never expected to make it to the 12-man roster of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas, as he only showed up to the team's training sessions at the Meralco Gym as a practice player.

"Pumunta lang ako kasi inimbitahan ako ni Coach Josh (Reyes)," Tamsi revealed Tuesday, when the squad's line-up was finally revealed. "Sabi niya lang, i-ready ko ang passport ko, kaya ayun, ginawa ko naman."

"Unexpected na makukuha ako," he admitted.

• READ: Austin vows Garnett-like intensity for Chooks-Pilipinas

In the Chooks-to-Go team, Tamsi will be reunited with some of his more celebrated teammates from FEU, Raymar Jose and Carl Bryan Cruz, both of whom had starring roles in the Philippines' gold medal campaign in the Southeast Asian Games recently.

He will also team up with players whom he regularly guarded back in their UAAP days, like Jeron Teng and Kiefer Ravena.

For Tamsi, his inclusion in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas team is a dream come true – even if he never truly expected this dream to become a reality.

"Sa FEU dati, hindi naman ako star player gaya ni (Mac) Belo, nina (Mike) Tolomia," he pointed out. "Never ko na-imagine."

"Pero siyempre, gustong-gusto ko maglaro para sa country natin, para ma-experience ko rin 'yung laro sa international, para ma-challenge din ang sarili ko," added Tamsi, who averaged 4.1 points and 1.0 rebound per game in his final UAAP season.

With the golden opportunity presented to him, Tamsi said he will simply do whatever it is he asked to do by Reyes.

"Kung ano ang pinapagawa ni coach, gagawin namin," he said. "More importantly, sa defense kasi maliliit kami compared sa mga ibang line-up. 'Yung chemistry, kailangan pa namin i-improve. 'Yung offense, darating naman pag maganda ang defense namin."

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)