Tag: fans

Gilas win over Latvia ‘means a lot to fans back home’

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Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone during a Fiba OQT Riga game against world No. 6 Latvia. –FIBA BASKETBALL

MANILA, Philippines — Even Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone was shocked with how his team pulled off a massive upset against world No.6 Latvia in the opener of their Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) campaign.

Gilas Pilipinas, led by Justin Brownlee and big men June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto, never wavered against one of the world’s best teams as it stunned Latvia with a wire-to-wire 89-80 win in front of the massive home crowd on Thursday (Manila Time) in Riga.

It was the country’s first against a European team since beating Spain in the 1960 Rome Olympics. And Cone was in awe of how the Filipinos overcame the daunting task, pouncing on the absence of Latvia star Arturs Zagars and limiting the home team to 27-of-72 shooting through their steady defense and masterful run of the triangle offense.

SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba OQT in Riga, Latvia

“I’m totally shocked to be sitting here in front of you guys after winning this basketball game,” Cone said in the postgame press conference.

“This is not something we thought we were gonna do, I’ll be honest with you, we wanted to come in and compete and really put on a good show. We got started early. We made shots early. Then, thankfully, Latvia missed shots and also Zagars didn’t play.”

Cone lauded the defense of his squad, which helped them pull off the stunner including the big shots of Brownlee down the stretch, limiting NBA player Davis Bertans to just 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting.

“Got to credit our guys and their defense. We were doing our best trying to defend everybody,” said the Gilas coach. “We were obviously very, very conscious of him (Bertans). We played him with a smaller guy who can be quicker. You look at our line-up, our big guy had to go out and guard (Rodion)Kurucs. We put our big guy on Kurucs and kept a smaller guy on Bertans.”

READ: Gilas Pilipinas stuns world No. 6 Latvia to open Fiba OQT bid

“But the guy (Bertans) still makes some incredible shots… Watching him in Georgia, and then we were going through all the videos, we were preparing for him. The shots he makes are just phenomenal. You just have to hold your breath and hope he misses. We try to slide into him and then hope and pray that he would miss. And tonight, he missed, went in our favor,” he added.

Cone attributed their big win to the Filipino fans back home, who stayed late which the game starting at midnight Thursday in Philippine time, to show their support by watching their first OQT game.

‘Basically Filipino’

Gilas Pilipinas looks to thr crowd after beating world No. 6 and home team Latvia in a Fiba OQT game in Riga.

Tim Cone-led Gilas Pilipinas looks to the crowd after beating world No. 6 and home team Latvia in a Fiba OQT game in Riga. –FIBA PHOTO

“How many times you can get to the international arena and have success? That’s a huge feather in your cap, not just for me but for all the players and all the people back home,” said the Barangay Ginebra coach.

“I grew up in the Philippines. I’ve been there my whole life. I went there when I was nine years old. And people know that about me and they know that I’m basically a Filipino although I have blonde hair and green eyes. It’s a feather in the cap for everyone.”

READ: Tim Cone dismisses notion that Gilas not big, fast, strong enough

“For us to have success on the world stage really means a lot to what’s going on back home. This is what we always wanted so this is a big huge step for us to be able to play Latvia at home and go at them face-to-face and come out with a win. It’s amazing for us.”

Despite their impressive start in the OQT, Cone stressed that the Filipinos didn’t come to win just one game but to “move on and get to the next round and have a chance to play in the final” as they battle World No. 23 Georgia on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (Manila time).



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“We really wanna try and get to the final and see what will happen if we get to the finals. That’s really the goal,” he said. “ Whenever you win a game the expectations go up so then you have to keep chasing the expectations and hopefully we won’t feel that and hopefully we can get that communicated to our team that we can’t play the expectations, we just play the way that we can play.”

“We have to turn around and play Georgia and our gonna country is gonna expect us, especially after this win tonight, to win tomorrow and it’s really gonna be a tough job for us to beat Georgia.”

Team USA’s Erik Shoji lauds ‘awesome’ Filipino fans

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Erik Shoji and Team USA in the VNL 2024 Week 3 Game in Manila. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Despite a losing debut in Manila, USA libero Erik Shoji felt the love of the Filipino fans, whom he considers the “nicest people in the world.”

USA’s effort went for naught as its comeback was denied by Iran, 26-28, 25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 15-13, in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 on Wednesday evening at Mall of Asia Arena.

But the American libero appreciated the cheers and warmth of the Filipinos despite their dimming Final Eight chances. 

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

“We love them. It’s a late night, they’re awesome. Salamat to all the Filipino fans. We’ll see them soon,” Shoji said. 

“We know that Filipino fans love volleyball so we thank them so much for coming and cheering. I’m from Honolulu so it’s cool to be here and it’s been an awesome experience so far.”

Even after the loss, Shoji, Micah Christenson, and other Americans stopped by the Fan Zone to meet some Filipinos.

READ: VNL: Micah Christenson, USA grateful for fans’ support in loss

 Shoji also lauded the hospitality of the Philippines as a host of the VNL for the third straight year.

“They’re taking really good care of us and people are so nice, so accommodating. They’re the nicest people in the world I think,” the 34-year-old libero said. “We’re really happy to be here for the first time. I think it’s almost everyone’s first experience here and so far it’s going good except for that match.”

Shoji and the Americans have no time to dwell on their loss to Iran as they battle Brazil on Thursday evening. 

“We have to learn from this one, move forward and it’s always a good one against Brazil,” Shoji said. “I think we were up and down, of course. We wanted to win today and just be a little bit better and be a little more crisp with our game. Iran played really well. They always play well against us. It was unfortunate in the end to lose that one.”



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The Olympic-bound USA is currently in 12th place with a 3-6 record.

Micah Christenson, USA grateful for fans’ support in loss

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Micah Christenson and Team USA during a VNL Week 3 game against Iran. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

MANILA, Philippines — Team USA setter Micah Christenson wanted to win it for their Filipino fans, but their Manila debut was spoiled by Iran in five sets in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Christenson and the fan-favorite USA, cheered by the Filipino crowd, couldn’t complete a comeback as Iran pulled off a 26-28, 25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 15-13 stunner to end a winless eight-game skid.

“I wish it could’ve gone differently, you know? But nonetheless, we really, really appreciate all of the support and love from the Filipino fans. We feel it every day all the time. It’s great to finally be here and try to put on some good performances for them in person,” said the American captain.

READ: VNL 2024: Iran upsets powerhouse USA for first win

TJ Defalco unleashed 33 points but it wasn’t enough as the Olympic-bound USA dropped to a 3-6 record in 12th place.

Christenson and some of his teammates still accommodated their supporters at the fan zone to show their appreciation after their post-game interviews. 

With USA’s final eight chances in limbo, the veteran setter seeks to keep on improving before heading to the Paris Olympics next month.

“We have a long way to go from where we wanna be, in the Olympics, so we’re gonna continue to work on that,” Christenson said.

The USA star praised Iran for pulling off a big win to improve to a 1-8 record despite their valiant effort to force a fifth set. 

“I think we have to first give credit to Iran. They played great. Everybody was making good defensive plays, even the middle blockers. They put a lot of pressure on us in certain situations. We have to give a lot of credit there, but we also have a lot to work on. We know that and we’re going to face it head-on,” he said.

“They’re always a dangerous team and they showed it tonight.”



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Christenson and USA have less than 24 hours before facing Brazil on Thursday at 7 p.m. as they hope to deliver a win for their country and Filipino fans.