Gilas Pilipinas guard Chris Newsome during a game against New Zealand in the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers in Auckland.–FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Even if Gilas Pilipinas lost their last game in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers, the Philippine team still feel like they won with the amount of support they received.
On Sunday, Gilas lost to New Zealand, 87-70, on the Kiwis’ home soil in front of a divisive crowd that basically subdued whatever home court advantage they thought they’d have.
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Chris Newsome wasn’t at all surprised with the amount of Filipinos that turned up and stayed to watch Gilas despite the game being a blowout loss.
READ: Gilas’ Tim Cone, Kiwi coach overwhelmed by ‘amazing’ crowd
“My coach from my club team Nenad (Vucinic) has told me a lot about New Zealand and the people here and to be able to see that firsthand, he’s definitely right,” said the Meralco star.
“What you saw in the crowd tonight was a Filipino staple.”
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Motivated by numerous OFWs in attendance, Newsome spearheaded the Philippines with a team-high 13 points built on an efficient 50 percent shooting clip.
That, however, wasn’t enough as the Tall Blacks had much more firepower led by Tohi Smith-Milner.
READ: Gilas has to be better on defense from get-go, says Newsome
Still, even if Smith-Milner shot the lights out and sank shots that would’ve sent a capacity crowd in silence. Not the Filipinos inside the Spark Arena, though.
“No matter where you go in the world, you’re going to see the Filipino people show up for their basketball team and I think you saw that tonight.”
“Even though we didn’t come out with the win, you can see that we were still able to bring joy all over those Filipino people, whether they’re here or back home. I think that speaks volumes on how passionate the Philippines is about basketball.”
If Newsome’s sentiments still ring true a few months from now, then Gilas Pilipinas will be buoyed by huge Filipino support in August when they get their 2025 Asia Cup campaign going in Saudi Arabia.
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