Photo from Fiba.com
MANILA, Philippines — There’s no place like home and Gilas Pilipinas, the most revered team in the country, was reminded about it upon its return to Manila Monday night.
The Philippine team, fresh off a successful campaign in the sixth window of the Asian qualifiers where it booked a ticket to the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China, was greeted with a warm welcome by its supporters who anticipated their arrival at NAIA Terminal 3.
Filipinos certainly had plenty to cheer about after Gilas chalked up a pair of crucial wins on the road against Qatar on Friday and Kazakhstan on Monday.
It had been a grueling last 10 days for Gilas, which had to endure exhausting flight schedules and extreme weather condition in Kazakhstan where temperatures hit as low as negative 11 degrees Celsius.
But it was all worth it in the end as the squad secured the country’s second straight Fiba World Cup appearance.
Andray Blatche, who spearheaded Gilas in both games, also joined the team in Manila.
The naturalized big man was nothing short of spectacular in his return for Gilas especially in the 93-75 win over the Kazakhs where he finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks.