MVP texts Chot Reyes, Gilas Pilipinas: ‘For now, we cannot ask for more’ Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Manuel V. Pangilinan on Monday sent a message to Gilas Pilipinas, following the national basketball team’s highly disappointing finish in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. After qualifying to the FIBA World Cup of Basketball by finishing second in the Asia qualifiers in Manila in 2013, and after an inspired run in Spain last August, hopes were high for a medal run for Gilas in South Korea. But after an opening win against India, the Philippine squad led by Gilas coach Chot Reyes lost three disappointing games to Iran, Qatar, and perennial rival South Korea. The Filipinos bowed out of the competition despite a win over Kazakhstan. Against a backdrop of national disappointment and even bitter social media criticism against Reyes, Pangilinan, the main patron of the Gilas Pilipinas team and the national program that has built up the team in the past decade, early Monday morning a heartfelt message to the team, via their coach. Pangilinan is also chairman of TV5 under which news department InterAksyon operates. The SBP president expressed his “deep personal gratitude for what the Gilas team has accomplished.” Although “heads (are) bowed” following the campaign in South Korea, he said the sentiment is “in sadness, not in shame.” He also acknowledged that national pride that the team had built up, and all the sacrifices each member of the team had made. Gilas had raised the standing of the Philippines and of Philippine basketball, Pangilinan noted. The latest FIBA world rankings, released before Incheon, saw the Philippines go up from 34th to 31st, following its outing in Spain. Below is the full text messsage of Pangilinan to Reyes, a copy of which was shared with InterAksyon: “Chot, pls send to each and all of you my deep personal gratitude for what the Gilas Team has accomplished – in Manila last year, and in Spain and Korea this year. “It has been quite a journey with its peaks and valleys; the road has been long and tough, the climb steep, and the obstacles formidable even from the get go. We may have fallen short of what we all desired to gift to our people after years of desolation, but all of you persevered, and gave your best to the country and improved our standing in world basketball. “For now, we cannot ask for more. Indeed, sports is a veritable roller coaster and we’ve seen that cycle of ups and downs as short as it was between Spain and Korea. We report our results in Korea with “heads bowed in sadness but not in shame”. That said, we take pride and satisfaction in all that Gilas have reached thus far. “The Asian Games are now done; it is time to look ahead and plan for the FIBA Asia competition next year in China, the winner of which qualifies for the 2016 Brazil Olympics. We must stay focused on our goal, and neither despair nor get deterred by the letdown in the Asian Games – which is comparatively less meaningful than the Olympics. “In the meantime, it is time to bring the Team home so that they can restore normalcy to their lives with their loved ones. Safe journey.” Source: interaksyon/interaktv/mvp-texts-chot-reyes-gilas-pilipinas-for-now-we-cannot-ask-for-more
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 02:16:57 +0000
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