FIBA HONORS PHILIPPINE BASKETBALL FANS AS THE BEST
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 15 Sep 2014
The incredible support of Filipino basketball fans during the last FIBA Asia Championships in eleven memorable days in August last year at the Mall of Asia Arena and the unbridled support during a series of tune-up games in France and Spain and the Group games in the FIBA World Cup in Seville have won recognition by FIBA, the international governing body for basketball.
The MVF ?Best Country Award? at the 2014 FIBA World Cup went to the Philippines which was cited as the ?Most Valuable Fan? Best Country Award.
The honor complements the glowing tributes to the Gilas Pilipinas team which battled some of the best teams in the world, losing heartbreakers to Croatia, Argentina and Greece and beating Senegal in overtime in the group stages of the tournament.
In a pre-World Cup tune-up game Gilas Pilipinas pushed European champions France who won the bronze medal in Spain, to the limit.
In their opening game which they lost to Croatia in overtime 81-78 which was decided by an inexplicable flopping call against Jason Castro in the dying seconds which gave Krunoslav Simon two free throws and the Croatians ball possession which enabled Damir Markota to nail a triple that gave them a 57-49 lead and when Castro was fouled at the sideline when attempting a desperate three-point shot in overtime and no foul was called, it ended a glorious effort by the Filipinos.
The loss to Croatia was followed by an 85-81 loss to Argentina who were ranked third in the world in a game where a questionable travelling call against Blatche in the closing minutes and the cramps of Ranidel de Ocampo promoted coach Chot Reyes to remark, ?they don?t respect us. We deserve better.?
But the Filipino fans did and came out in the hundreds waving flags and banners and cheering the team on in a must-win game against Puerto Rico which appeared to be going the way of the Philippines before NBA point guard JJ Barea of the Minnesota Timberwolves took over to finish with 30 points and end the Gilas Pilipinas quest of a place in the seond round, winning 77-73.
Gilas Pilipinas scored its first win in the international arena with an 81-79 overtime victory over favored Senegal despite the fact that naturalized NBA player Andre Blatche fouled out with some two minutes to go before PBA MVP Junmar Fajardo played the game of his life alongside skipper Jimmy Alapag to give Filipino fans who never wavered in their support of the team, something to cheer about.
Passionate basketball writer Rafe Bartholomew, editor for an American sports website Grantland believes that ?the Philippines will remembver this tournament with enormous pride. And moments like Jimmy Alapag?s unconscious heat-check run of five pull-up 3 pointers in the second half against Argentinam or 6?5? March Pingris bodying up with 7-foot, 270 pound Greek center Ioannis Bourosis in the low post and poking the ball away from him for a steal, or Blatche pounding his chest after giving the team a late lead against Croatia will make up the latest chapter in the Philippines? never-ending romance with basketball.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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