Pinoys to descend on Seville in droves

MANILA, Philippines - If the multitude in Guadalajara is an indicator, the 7,127-seat Palacio Municipal de Deportes will likely be packed with Filipino supporters when Gilas begins Group B action against Croatia at the FIBA World Cup in Seville this Saturday.

There are 20,000 Filipino residents in Madrid and at least 3,500 came to cheer for the Philippine national team in the warm-up game against Egypt at the 5,600-seat Palacio Multiusos in Guadalajara, 60 kilometers northeast of the Spanish capital city, last Sunday. Gilas didn’t disappoint the Filipino legion as the squad came from behind to stun Africa’s No. 2 team, 74-65, behind Jeff Chan’s 20 points, Andray Blatche’s 14 and Marc Pingris’ 12.

In Gilas’ final warm-up, also in Guadalajara, last Monday, the Philippines bowed to the Dominican Republic, 86-79, but not after a bitter battle. The count was tied, 21-all, at the end of the first period and Gilas trailed by four at the half. Gilas team manager Aboy Castro said the second quarter was marked by several bench-clearing incidents and physical play. The Dominican Republic still led, 57-54, entering the fourth period then the Philippines tied it, 65-all, with six minutes left. Blatche had 13 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes at that stage. The Dominican Republic pulled ahead, 80-75, with 2:14 left and the gap was only a possession with less than a minute to go.

“We fought hard,” said Castro. “Great way to end our preparation phase. We bring some momentum heading into the World Cup. The estimate was 3,500 Filipinos came for the game the day before. Against the Dominican Republic, the Filipino crowd was easily 1,500 to 2,000.” The Dominican Republic’s star is 6-7 Francisco Garcia of the Houston Rockets and former NBA guard Rod Strickland is an assistant coach.

In FIBA rankings, the Dominican Republic is No. 26, the Philippines No. 34 and Egypt No. 46. Last year, the Dominican Republic finished fourth at the FIBA Americas Championships and earned only its second ticket to the World Cup after competing in Manila in 1978. Egypt has placed first, second or third in 17 of 21 FIBA Africa Championships since 1962 and last year, wound up second to Angola. This will be Egypt’s sixth appearance at the FIBA World Cup but first since 1994.

The Dominican Republic is bracketed in Group C with Finland, New Zealand, Turkey, Ukraine and the US in Bilbao while Egypt is in Group A with Brazil, France, Iran, Serbia and Spain in Granada. The Philippines is in Group B with Croatia, Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Senegal in Seville.

Gilas guard Jayson Castro did not play in both games and is listed day-to-day, recovering from a sprain in the right ankle. He could’ve played a big role in turning things around against the Dominican Republic.

In the Egypt game, Blatche started out flat and went 0-of-11 from the field in the first half. But midway the third period, he erupted for seven points to stake Gilas to an 11-point lead. JunMar Fajardo provided a huge lift while Blatche sat on the bench and finished with eight points.

Aboy Castro said the players spent at least two hours mingling with Filipino fans after the game. “They gave it their all then stayed with the fans for two hours,” he said. “Jimmy Alapag, Jeff Chan, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris and JunMar Fajardo accommodated the fans. Organizers estimated 800 fans lining up for the Meet-and-Greet and the wait was at least an hour.”

David Perez, a Filipino migrant in New Zealand, and Spanish player agent Juan Lasso organized the Guadalajara event. PLDT UK director Oliver (Bong) Calma flew in to sponsor the Smart Meet-and-Greet and promote the Smart SIM which was recently launched in Spain. Perez and Lasso arranged warm-up games for Gilas, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Egypt, Dominican Republic and Estonia in Guadalajara.

“As a result of Gilas’ qualification for the World Cup, I put it as a pet project of mine to find tune-up games for Gilas in the lead-up to Seville just like I did last year in New Zealand,” Perez told The Star by e-mail from Guadalajara. “The journey took me to establishing contact with the Egyptian and Estonian federations which also wanted me to arrange tune-ups. As part of a strategic move, I established contact with a Madrid organizer Juan. I felt from a logistic point of view, Madrid or a city nearby like Guadalajara would be the ideal location for teams participating at the World Cup to have their final tune-ups. Additionally, I was aware of the large Filipino community in Madrid who could come out to support Gilas. So Juan and I decided to partner to organize the Guadalajara games.”

Perez, a technology business consultant assigned to work on government projects in Wellington, will be in Spain throughout the World Cup. “For Gilas, it won’t be easy to get a win in Seville but I think with the impact Blatche provides creating situations for himself and others, we have a legitimate shot at winning a game,” he said. “As underdogs, we have to play beyond our weight and hopefully, breaks fall our way.” In Guadalajara, Gilas was able to scout Group B opponents Puerto Rico, Argentina and Senegal so it won’t be a total surprise when the hostilities get underway.