Gabe Norwood officially retires following ROS’ PBA playoff exit

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Thank you for 17 wonderful years, Mr. President.

On Dec. 29, 2025, PBA ambassador and living legend Gabe Norwood officially played his last game as a professional, following the quarterfinal series loss of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to the Meralco Bolts.

Rain or Shine did what it could to take advantage of its twice-to-beat playoff incentive, but Meralco’s experience and bench depth stole the show, handing the Elasto Painters a tough pill to swallow with a 2-0 sweep.

Although it wasn’t the fitting ending Norwood imagined in his last conference in the PBA, the two-time champion and Gilas Pilipinas legend received a shower of love from his head coach, Yeng Guiao, his teammates, the entire Meralco crew, and everyone who came by to witness the last time he donned the Rain or Shine jersey.

Cliff Hodge, Meralco’s veteran power forward, even rushed to Norwood just to give him the official game ball, while Chris Newsome immediately hugged him and sent him the best praise he could hear.

“He is the epitome of loyalty and just decency and true to being a professional,” Guiao said of Norwood.

“Madalas kong sabihin na wala kang mapipintas kay Gabe eh. Wala kang mapipintas kahit sa aong bagay. We are just kind of disappointed that we wanted to give him a really good exit. Sayang.”

Selected first overall in the 2008 PBA Draft, Norwood immediately made an impact at Rain or Shine, delivering dunk highlights that regularly made the league’s top 10 plays of the week.

Athletic, explosive and a notable defensive linchpin who wreaked havoc in the U.S. NCAA tournament, Norwood became a key cog in Rain or Shine’s PBA campaign.

After 17 seasons in the PBA, Norwood helped lead the Elasto Painters to two championship titles in the 2012 Governors’ Cup and the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.

The celebrated star also collected numerous awards, including PBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, three PBA Sportsmanship awards and 11 PBA All-Star selections.

Norwood was widely praised for his work ethic and leadership, the main reason Rain or Shine hired him as part of its coaching staff despite still being an active player on its roster.

“I just want to thank Rain or Shine, played for just one organization my whole career, only called one place home. It’s special to me. They took me in as a son back in 2008 and it’s been family the whole way through,” Norwood said.