MANILA, Philippines -- Before Gilas Pilipinas’ game against China, the team’s focus was only on two words: dig deep.
And deep, they dug.
Gilas finally scored its first win in the FIBA World Cup at home with an 96-75 drubbing of their Asian rivals Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jordan Clarkson waxed hot in the game as he dropped 34 points.
“We just had two words on our board. We didn’t have any Xs and Os in our board before the game, we just had two words: 'dig deep',” Gilas head coach Chot Reyes told reporters after their breakthrough win.
“We reminded the players that no matter the typhoon, the weather, being essentially a no bearing game, the crowd still came, the Filipinos still came to watch, we said let’s gift them with a present. Let’s make sure to end this with a gift to the Filipino people for their continued belief,” he added.
He underscored that for the team to secure the victory, they have to grind it out.
“That’s what the players did, every single one of them, I’m so proud,” Reyes said.
The polarizing coach, who announced his move to “step aside” a few minutes into the postgame press conference, basked in the feeling of victory.
“Unfortunately, the result didn’t come out as we expected, but to end with a win, no greater feeling, no greater feeling,” Reyes said.
The team aimed to win at least two games to secure a berth in the Paris Olympics.
Gilas ended the tournament ranked 24th with a 1-4 win-loss slate.