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Pinoys booing ‘Haka’ not an issue to NZ Tall Blacks

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/7/08/haka-070816.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">New Zealand doing the &#x27;Haka&#x27; before their game against France. Photo by Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</div></figcaption></figure></div>Many Filipino spectators at the Mall of Asia Arena booed the New Zealand basketball team while the latter was doing the “Haka” before the Gilas Pilipinas squad last Wednesday.<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en">Gilas Pilipinas refuse to get intimidated by NZL&#x27;s trademark Haka dance <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash">#FIBAOQT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/abscbnsports">@abscbnsports</a> <a href="https://t.co/PT24cdou1g">pic.twitter.com/PT24cdou1g</a>— Paul Lintag (@paullintag8) <a href="https://twitter.com/paullintag8/status/750675696255537152">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="~//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>Haka is a traditional war cry or challenge by the Māori people of New Zealand, and the Kiwi squad performed this before playing against the nationals at the FIBA Olympic qualifying Tournament. The custom, apparently, displeased many fans at the venue, hence the boos.But New Zealand rugby great Howie Tamati said the heckling is not an issue to them as the Haka was directed at Gilas.&quot;If people who&#x27;ve never seen it, boo it, it&#x27;s up to them,&quot; he said in <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/81886763/booed-haka-wrong-anthem-confront-tall-blacks-at-olympic-basketball-qualifier?cid=facebook.post.81886763" target="_blank">Stuff Sport</a>.&quot;If they want to disrespect it, that doesn&#x27;t matter, it&#x27;s not for them, it&#x27;s for the athletes.&quot;Tamati, the 1983 New Zealand rugby league player of the year, pointed out that the Haka is not for onlookers.&quot;They weren&#x27;t doing it for applause, it was to make a statement and to throw out the challenge - whatever that may be,” he explained.Even Tall Blacks guard Tai Webster wasn&#x27;t surprised by the negative reception to the Haka.&quot;I mean, different people react in different ways to it,&quot; he said. &quot;I guess it was just their way of reacting to it, the crowd getting behind the home team and what not.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s expected, but you know, it is what it is.&quot;The New Zealand Tall Blacks defeated Gilas, 89-80, and eliminated the Philippines from the Olympic race. For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

New Zealand rugby great Howie Tamati said the heckling the New Zealand basketball team got from Filipino fans while doing the "haka" last Wednesday is not an issue to them.