Kevin Love looks forward to seeing Gilas Pilipinas in Fiba World Cup

By: Celest Flores-Colina - 10 years ago

Video by Noy Morcoso lll/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines— Kevin Love, who is no stranger to representing his country in international competition, has an advice to the Philippine national team when they fly to Spain for the World Cup.

Just enjoy.

“Enjoy it and take it all in. Spain is a spectacular place to be. It’s a chance for you to have a lot pride, take on other countries, and at the same time represent your own and it give it a great name,” the NBA superstar told Filipino media on Friday night.

“Basketball is a beautiful game. Just go out there and enjoy it. At the end of the day, we’re putting a ball through the hoop and it’s a lot of fun doing it.”

For Love, who has represented the United States numerous times and even got an Olympic gold medal out of it, there is nothing better than donning your country’s colors.

“It’s a long summer [playing for the national team], but it’s worth it to have a gold medal around your neck and represent your country,” he said.

The Fiba Worlds in August won’t be the last time the 25-year-old power forward will wear USA’s colors.

“It’s kinda open-ended for me,” when asked until when he’ll play for the US. “I’ve had a great time playing for them. They’ve done a lot of my my career. I plan on playing this year and in 2016 in Brazil. After that, I’ll see how my body feels.”

The six-foot-10 rebounding machine from Minnesota is actually looking forward to seeing the Filipinos on the world stage this year.

NBA superstar Kevin Love. NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net

“Maybe the US team will have a chance to play them. I’m looking forward to see what they bring to the table and hopefully they won’t be too good so we’ll be able to advance,” Love said with a smile.

Philippines is bracketed with Argentina, Greece, Croatia, Puerto Rico and Senegal in group B while the Americans are in group C along with Turkey, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, Finland, and Ukraine.

Argentina was one of the countries that Love thinks will give USA a run for its money, along with Spain, Turkey, Russia, Lithuania, Brazil, Argentina and Slovenia.

“There are a lot of teams that could give us a run for our money. They have players that have not only been in the NBA or play in the NBA but are very good in Fiba basketball overseas.”