Gilas Pilipinas meets with Filipino community in Qatar ahead of crucial game

Gilas Pilipinas is in Doha thousands of miles away from home as it prepares for a must-win duel against Qatar in the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.

But just like in nearly any part of the globe, Filipino communities abroad make any place feel like home.

Filipinos currently working and residing in Qatar are no exception as they reminded members of Gilas Pilipinas that they are certainly not alone in their battle on Friday.

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Filipinos came out and showed their support for Gilas during a meet and greet event Tuesday.

And there’s no better way for Gilas to show its appreciation than winning.

“They’re very excited especially with the way they’ve been treated by the Filipino community,” national team head coach Yeng Guiao said in an interview with ESPN5’s Charmie Lising, who is in Qatar.

“Actually, it’s also one of the reasons why we really want to win. Not only that we want to make the people back in the Philippines happy but also make the Filipinos here in Qatar happy,”Guiao added in Filipino.

Winning, however, has been a rarity for the Philippine team as of late after dropping three of its last four games.

But if there’s a perfect time for Gilas to bounce back, it’s against Qatar.

Its recent struggles hardly left the Nationals any room for error versus the Qataris with winning the only option if they want to keep their Fiba World Cup bid going.