Hindi na naglalaro ang Gilas Pilipinas sa FIBA World Cup kung saan hindi nila nagawang umabante sa final phase ng torneo.
Pero tila hindi pa rin mapigilan ng mga nagmamahal sa basketball na mga Pilipino kaya naman tuluy-tuloy ang kanilang pagtangkilik dito may kamahalan man ang ticket.
Isa sa mga kinababaliwan ng mga Pinoy ay ang star player ng Dallas Mavericks sa NBA na si Luka Doncic na ginagabayan ang kanyang koponang Slovenia sa pinakamalaking basketball tournament sa buong mundo.
Saksi si Luka sa mainit na pagtangggap ng mga Pilipino, kaya naman sinuklian rin ni Doncic ang kanilang suporta sa patuloy na paglalaro magkasugat-sugat man ang kanyang katawan.
Bilib ang coach ng Slovenia sa ipinakitang pagmamahal at suporta ng mga Pilipino kay Doncic at sa kanilang koponan.
Dalawang beses pa lamang silang naglalaro sa Maynila pero mainit ang kanilang pagtanggap.
“It’s just an amazing atmosphere here,” ang sabi ni Sekulic. “We felt like the whole arena was for us. All Philippines were for us. We have some guys who don’t like us, but other than that, we really, really appreciate the support of the fans in the Philippines.”
Ayon sa coach, paikiramdam niya ay teritoryo nila ang Pilipinas sa init ng suporta na kanilang nararanasan.
Gayundin ang obserbasyon ng kanyang iba pang players na sina Mike Tobey at Zoran Dragic.
“It was crazy. It was nice to see how they cheer for Slovenia,” sabi ni Dragic. “We are very surprised and happy that we have fans here in the Philippines.”
“It’s amazing,” dagdag pa ni Tobey. “I think they really love Luka and it gave us energy. We really appreciate that.”
Kanya naman maski na tambak na ang Slovenia at kung anong sakit ng katawan na tinatanggap ni Doncic, hindi pa rin ito sumusuko sa laban para lang pasayin ang mga fans.
“Luka is very competitive,” dagdag ni Sekulic. “He told me he wanted to play and I don’t know where he found that energy. He was not just our best player, but he’s our best man in providing energy. He was trying to motivate everybody to put us at another level, but I think we were not at the level where he wanted.”
“He was trying hard in the game, in time outs, in the locker room, all the time. That’s why he continued playing because he felt good, maybe because fans here loved him.”
