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FIBA World Cup: Gilas thankful for crowd support in Foshan

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/09/05/fans-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Filipino fans wave the flag during Gilas Pilipinas&#x27; game against Angola. FIBA</figcaption></figure></div>FOSHAN -- They may have failed to book a single victory in the group round of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the players of Gilas Pilipinas were still encouraged by the support they got from the fans at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center.Through their blowout losses to Serbia and Italy, and their heartbreaking overtime defeat to Angola, Gilas Pilipinas enjoyed the support of a handful of Filipinos who proudly waved the flag and cheered for every bit of success that they got on the court.Some of them, such as the group of Alex delas Alas, traveled all the way from Bicol to watch the game against Italy. Jade Apostol and his friends also made the trip from Shenzhen, where they work in an electronics factory, to support the team.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Met some Filipino fans ahead of the game. This group came all the way from Bicol to watch Gilas Pilipinas. <a href="https://t.co/tDBFqW5mOZ">pic.twitter.com/tDBFqW5mOZ</a>— Camille B. Naredo || FIBAWC (@camillenaredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/1167750005446205446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>Ahead of the game, they joined a bunch of Italian fans for pictures, in a moment of sportsmanship.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">Some Italian fans joined them ahead of the game for a photo. Gilas and Italy will play in their first game at 7:30 pm. <a href="https://t.co/JPPgEKL0Rp">pic.twitter.com/JPPgEKL0Rp</a>— Camille B. Naredo || FIBAWC (@camillenaredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/1167750417880514560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>Jhana Ernacio and Nick Rodriguez watched all three of the Philippines&#x27; group round games, having made the trip from Dubai to Foshan. It&#x27;s not the first time that they traveled a long distance for Gilas as they also went Seville, Spain, in 2014, when the Philippines made their return to the world stage after four decades.&quot;Dalawang beses na kami nag-World Cup,&quot; said Rodriguez. &quot;Sa susunod, baka sa Pinas naman.&quot;&quot;We&#x27;ll be there as well,&quot; Ernacio guaranteed.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Before the game, we ran into Jhana Ernacio and Nick Rodriguez, who flew all the way from Dubai to watch Gilas in the World Cup. They also watched the 2014 World Cup in Spain and are hoping to be there in 2023 when the Philippines hosts the World Cup. <a href="https://t.co/8wrlGAwQKx">pic.twitter.com/8wrlGAwQKx</a>— Camille B. Naredo || FIBAWC (@camillenaredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/1169284236781637633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/gilas/news/2019/09/04/fiba-olympics-still-play-gilas-china-loss-60627">READ: Olympics somehow still in play for Gilas after China flames out of World Cup</a></li></ul>Rodriguez, a self-confessed basketball fanatic, could only shrug when asked about Gilas&#x27; losses to Italy and Serbia.&quot;Ang lalaki ng kalaban eh. Medyo kulang pa tayo sa shooting. So tingin ko kailangan &#x27;yun ang i-improve natin. At saka sa depensa, nahihilo na sila,&quot; he said before the game against Angola.&quot;Pero it&#x27;s okay,&quot; Ernacio quickly added. &quot;As long as they represent the Philippines and they gave it all, so I guess that&#x27;s okay.&quot;&quot;Manalo, matalo, suporta kami,&quot; Rodriguez assured.Still, they were hopeful that the Philippines could finally pull off a win against Angola. Gilas was the higher ranked team, and unlike Italy and Serbia, Angola featured no NBA players who could punish the Philippines.Unfortunately, Gilas Pilipinas could not get the job done. They thrilled the partisan crowd when they came back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and sent the game to overtime, but Angola would hack out the win, 84-81.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/09/05/fans-2.jpg"/><figcaption>The Filipino fans made their presence felt in the game against Angola, especially in the fourth quarter. FIBA</figcaption></figure></div>As disappointed as they were about the result of the game, the Gilas players stressed that they felt the support of the crowd on Wednesday night.&quot;Siyempre, nakakataba ng puso, kasi kahit win or lose, andiyan sila para sa amin,&quot; said CJ Perez, who once again was the impact player for Gilas with 17 points, including the triple that forced overtime.For Kiefer Ravena, having fans inside the arena was a big deal, especially as social media has not been kind to the team following their poor performances against Italy and Serbia.&quot;Malaking bagay talaga kasi sila,&quot; he said. &quot;Again, kayo, sila, sila &#x27;yung nakakaramdam nung atmosphere dito eh and kung ano &#x27;yung effort na binibigay namin, &#x27;di katulad &#x27;yung &#x27;pag nasa likod ka lang ng laptop mo, ng cellphone mo, na nagta-type ka lang kung ano &#x27;yung gusto mong sabihin di ba.&quot;&quot;So for us, ang laking bagay nung mga Pilipino na nandito kasi nung lamang &#x27;yung kalaban ng 10, nandun pa rin sila, naririnig namin sila nagchi-cheer,&quot; he added.Indeed, during the crucial stretches in the fourth quarter when Gilas erased a double-digit deficit, the Filipinos inside the venue made them feel as though they were playing at the Araneta Coliseum or the Mall of Asia Arena, Ravena pointed out.&quot;Nagchi-cheer &#x27;yung mga tao,&quot; he said. &quot;Kaya sobrang nagpapasalamat talaga kami para sa kanila.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

They may have failed to book a single victory in the group round of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the players of Gilas Pilipinas were still encouraged by the support they got from the fans at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center.

They may have failed to book a single victory in the group round of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the players of Gilas Pilipinas were still encouraged by the support they got from the fans at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center.

FIBA World Cup: Gilas thankful for crowd support in Foshan

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FIBA World Cup: Gilas thankful for crowd support in Foshan

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 05, 2019 11:28 AM PHT

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FIBA World Cup

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