Rhenz Abando pleads for fans to stop bashing as Gilas knocked out of FIBA World Cup contention

Rhenz Abando pleaded with the fans to stop the bashing as Gilas Pilipinas fell short against Italy, 90-83, to bow out of contention in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

During the teams' introduction, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes was again at the receiving end of boos from several fans. It was similar to what the veteran tactician got a year ago when he was also jeered inside the Mall of Asia Arena during the World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Abando added that Reyes was not the only target of bashing as some of his teammates have also been taking lumps online.

"Ito 'yung time na dapat hindi natin hinahatak pababa 'yung mga teammates ko, 'yung mga coaches ko," Abando said.

("This is the time where we shouldn't be dragging down my teammates and my coaches.")

Abando, who has been the sparkplug of the team, made a good account of himself, scoring eight points off the bench along with two rebounds and even a huge block against Italy's 6-foot-7 forward Giampaolo Ricci.

While he had a steady performance, Abando said that just like him, everyone on Gilas did their best.

The former NCAA MVP and Rookie of the Year also called on fans to continue to support the team as they still have two classification games left in the tournament.

"Alam kong konti 'yung mga nambabash sa akin pero 'yung sa mga teammates ko, may mga nambabash, may nababasa ako lalo na sa mga coaches. Hindi ito 'yung tamang panahon para i-bash sila kasi tao lang din tayo, nagkakamali and ginagawa lang din nila 'yung best nila," he added.

("I know there aren't a lot who are bashing me, but there are those bashing my teammates, I've read some especially those bashing my coaches. This is not the time to bash them because we're all human, we make mistakes, and they are doing their best.")

"And kay coach, ginagawa lang din niya 'yung best niya and sa kanya talaga babagsak kasi siya 'yung nagmamando dito. So, dapat suportahan niyo pa rin kung ano man mangyari. Para sa atin ito. Para sa atin itong ginagawa namin."

("And with Coach, he is doing his best and he receives it the most because he's the one in charge. So you should still support whatever happens. This is for all of us. Everything we're doing is for all of us.")

Jordan Clarkson also chimed in on the boos Reyes got, saying he found it weird, especially with the country hosting the tournament.

"I didn't get around the situation to figure out what it's for but yeah, it's a little weird, especially us hosting and us being a home country," he said.

"But yeah, I don't really know much about the situation but it does, at that point, feel a little weird and kind of just out of the ordinary."

Gilas will still compete in the classification rounds that will determine the final standings of the eliminated teams.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News