Crowd fuels Gilas Pilipinas drive

MANILA, Philippines – “When you play Gilas Pillipinas, you play against the country of the Philippines.”

Those were the words head coach Chot Reyes uttered at the post-game press conference after their huge 88-58 victory against Kazakhstan to enter the semifinal round of the 27th FIBA Asia championship.

Reyes stressed the importance of the homecourt advantage in their crucial quarterfinal game, crediting the fans for their ardent support that gave them the edge.

“We needed to play with more energy. During practice that was what I emphasized on them and in end the crowd really helped and allowed us to play with a lot of energy,” said Reyes.

The crowd of 17,273 that watched the quarterfinal game was loud and proud as Gilas Pilipinas cut down the taller Kazakhstan to size by outshooting and outrunning them. The Filipinos hit 13 triples and scored 16 fastbreak points to run away with their biggest win against any Kazakhstan team in the FIBA Asia history.  

“They were bigger, stronger and more physical than us. We needed to match it with our energy and the crowd gave us that needed energy,” he added.

The tremendous pressure the national team has received could have crumbled the confidence of any other squad but Gilas Pilipinas has embraced the chance to prove their worth and turn it to their advantage.

“We talk about the pressure because sometimes it feels like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders but we keep reminding ourselves that this is a privilege,” said Reyes.

“Some guys got injured or got cut and we tell them what guys like Kelly Williams, Ryan Reyes or Sonny Thoss would would give up to play for this team so instead we try to inject a sense of appreciation,” he added.

Gilas Pilipinas will have a chance at immortality when they play Saturday against Korea or Qatar which are still playing as of posting time.

At stake is a ticket to 2014 Basketball World Cup in Spain as the top three finishers of the tournament will be given the privilege of playing against the best teams in the world.