“I think my toughness will be my most important contribution to the team.”

Paul Lee doesn’t lie. In July, he coolly sank three free throws with no time left to give Gilas Pilipinas a bronze medal finish at the 2014 FIBA-Asia Cup in China.

It’s this brand of toughness that the Philippine team’s newest addition brings to the FIBA World Cup.

The six-foot Lee, who first learned to play basketball in Manila’s toughest streets, is never afraid to take the biggest shot of the game and he doesn’t back down from taller defenders as proven by his remarkable run in the FIBA-Asia Cup and in their tune-up games for the FIBA World Cup.

In three days, he’s going to introduce to the world basketball stage the true meaning of “angas.”