Never-say-die Gilas hailed By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 13, 2013 - MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino commended yesterday the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team despite its loss to Iran in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship finals Sunday night. “Up to the last few seconds, they never gave up. They showed the respect that was earned by their playing in previous games. They were not treated as an unworthy opponent by our opponents,” Aquino said during the inauguration of a manufacturing facility in Batangas yesterday. “Just a little reflection on last night’s basketball game: we won at least the silver or first runner-up position,” added Aquino, who watched the game Sunday night. He acknowledged that while Filipino players “are not yet blessed with the height necessary to become a dominant power in the world of basketball,” their zeal in defeating their opponent never waned up to the end. “We even lost our center due to an injury and it was really encouraging, at least on my part, to view our countrymen not giving in to a sense of, perhaps, defeat by just accepting the fact that, you know, these guys are above seven feet tall and they are really kind of difficult to beat,” the President observed. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also extended Malacañang’s congratulations to the Gilas players for winning the silver medal and “with it, a ticket to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.” The last time that the Philippines qualified for the world championships was in 1978, when it was seeded as hosts. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “This victory is the culmination of years of hard work, belief, and perseverance from our players and their families, from our coaching staff, from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas led by chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, and, most of all, from the entire Filipino nation, who has always stood behind the national team through their struggles and triumphs,” he said in a statement. “May their performance inspire every Filipino to relentlessly pursue excellence, no matter what field they find themselves in, so that, together, we may fulfill our shared aspiration of a Philippine nation greater than ever before,” he added. Vice President Jejomar Binay is also proud of the first runner up finish of Gilas Pilipinas. “Their silver medal finish makes us proud to be Filipinos,” said Binay, who also watched the championship game Sunday night. Joining President Aquino and a crowd of over 19,000 in watching the Philippines-Iran match, Binay said the national team’s performance showed the world that Filipinos have the skills, audacity and heart to succeed. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Marvin Sy, Paolo Edwin Romero Sarmiento
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 23:52:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015