MANILA, Philippines -- Even without naturalized big man Andray Blatche, veteran forwards Marc Pingris and Ranidel de Ocampo vowed to leave everything on the floor when Gilas Pilipinas begins its Williams Jones Cup campaign against host nation Chinese Taipei-A on Sunday night before an expected hostile crowd in Taiwan.
The 6-foot-5 Pingris admitted Gilas is the smallest team in the tournament, but they will compensate their lack of size with their big, fighting heart.
"Sayang, wala si Blatche. Malaking bagay siya pero kailangan namin maglaro kahit wala siya," Pingris confided to Philstar.com on the eve of the grudge match against the Chinese-Taipei side that defeated Gilas during the 2013 Fiba-Asia men's championships in Manila.
"Pero basta suot namin ang Pilipinas sa dibdib namin, lalaban kami para sa bayan natin, so sana pagdasal nyo kami," he said.
"Malilit kami dito sa Jones Cup pero malaki puso natin pagdating sa basketball," added the 33-year-old Pingris, who only joined Gilas' practice on Wednesday.
Blatche left Taiwan on Saturday morning and went back to the US to be at the wake of his uncle and attend to his ailing mother.
The former Brooklyn Nets big man is expected to miss the rest of the tournament, which Gilas is using as part of its preparation for next month's Fiba-Asia men's championship in Changsa-Hunan, China.
On the other hand, De Ocampo, expects the huge crowd comprised of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and even the Taiwanese fans to pack the Xinchuang Gymnasium to support their respective countrymen.
For the OFWs, this marks the first time they will see Gilas play in Taiwan since ruling the 2012 Jones Cup edition.
"Sigurado madami manonood na mga Pinoy at lalo na mga Taiwanese kasi Sunday at gusto nila panoorin kapag Pilipinas ang kalaban," said De Ocampo, who only started practicing with Gilas four days ago after recovering from a hamstring injury.
The veteran 'stretch four' said they are aware of their situation, but fans can expect them to fight with all their hearts.
"Alam namin kung ano sitwasyon namin at lalaban kami ng buong puso," vowed De Ocampo.