ESPN anchor says Gilas Pilipinas 'plays with more heart' than any team

Gilas Pilipinas may have lost its third straight assignment in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the national team is continuing to win hearts of everyone who watches the games.

Add ESPN anchor and NBA play-by-play man Mark Jones to the list of people who have become smitten with the Philippines' brand of "puso"-inspired basketball.

Phillipines plays with more heart and relentlessness than any other team in the FIBA World Cup. Trailing Argentina 79-76 in 4th qtr.

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) September 1, 2014

Jones sent out his tweet in the middle of a hot fourth quarter rally, which saw Gilas whittle down a 15-point second half deficit to just a single point.

The firestarter for Gilas was team captain Jimmy Alapag, perhaps the shortest player in the whole tournament. The Philippines' "Mighty Mouse" hit five three-pointers in the second half to spark the uprising.

In the end, Gilas yielded an 85-81 result to the world third-ranked basketball team, a result that has been increasingly common for the shortest team in the competition. But the Filipinos have shown the world that what they may lack in height, they certainly don't lack in heart. — JST, GMA News