MANILA, Philippines – The Gilas Pilipinas women's team expressed their gratitude to the Filipino community in Amman, Jordan, following their breakthrough 74-70 win against India in the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup on Thursday (early Friday morning, Manila time).
In the stands of the Prinze Hamza Hall in the past week were scores of Overseas Filipino Workers and their families, never missing a beat in cheering for the Filipina ballers.
The outpouring of support didn't go unnoticed by head coach Pat Aquino.
"[It's] very special," Aquino said of having Filipinos in the arena to cheer for them.
"Everywhere we go, there's lots of Filipinos around the world and fans come out and support us... Filipinos really support our athletes and our journey here," he added.
Gilas veteran Janine Pontejos, for her part, said that the Filipinos in the stands boosted their energy on the court.
"For me, there's a big factor of the audience because they boost our energy to win this game," she said.
Cheering them on in every point, the Filipino crowd in the stadium became a sixth man for the national team.
"Without them, probably, we won't be as lucky as today," Aquino said.
"We're so happy and would like to say thank you for everyone who had supported us in this tournament," he added.
The Filipinas stay in Division A of the tournament after beating India to notch the seventh place spot in the tournament.