'Educated, respectful' record crowd leaves Dominican Republic coach in awe

BOCAUE, Bulacan — “It was a basketball party.”

That was how Dominican Republic head coach Nestor Garcia described his team’s opening game in the 2023 FIBA World Cup against the home team Gilas Pilipinas on Friday.

A record crowd of 38,115 fans flocked to the Philippine Arena here to witness the Philippines put up a valiant stand against the Dominicans, 87-81.

Despite being on the opposite end of the court, Garcia said that his team felt that they were respected by the fans.

“Unbelievable, it was amazing. You know — how was this stadium today.” he said after the game. 

“Your fans are educated people. I’d say congratulations for the crowd because their behavior was unbelievable, with their respect of the game, the referees, our team,” he added.

Though there were jeers thrown each time the Dominicans held the ball, Garcia felt that there were no efforts to insult or disrespect his players, even with the competitive nature of the game.

“I think it was a basketball party, you know? Because all of the fans support their team and respect my team. I’m very grateful,” he said.

Garcia’s star in Karl-Anthony Towns echoed the same sentiments.

“Oh, it’s amazing. You know, I’ve never been here. I’ve told everyone I was dying to come out here, I didn’t know it would be through basketball. So, [I’m] super excited to be here. Like I said, the fans have been nothing but amazing to us.” he said.

Garcia and Towns will hope to receive more love from the Filipino crowd when they face Italy at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, August 27.