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Gilas Pilipinas players proud of PHL's historic run in FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Gilas Pilipinas players expressed their pride in the country's historic run in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
The Philippines ended its journey to the Paris Olympics after falling to Brazil, 71-60, in the semifinals on Saturday in Latvia.
Still, Gilas made history as it defeated a European team in a FIBA competition for the first time in 64 years when it won against Latvia. It was followed by a narrow loss against Georgia which enough for the nationals to advance to the semifinals.
Chris Newsome said that despite the loss, they "did something great."
"A lot of people didn't think we were capable of doing so that being said, I'm still proud of everybody in that locker room and proud of the journey that we've been on and what we were able to accomplish in the short amount of time. There's nothing to really be sad about it or hold our heads down on," Newsome said on the sidelines of the semis match.
"Of course, we want to get to the Olympics. It was the ultimate goal, but again, this is another stepping stone for us as a program to try to improve and continue to get better. There's there's a lot of positives that you can take away from this this trip and from this OQT."
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee, meanwhile, remained grateful for the opportunity he had with the national team.
"It's just been an honor to come here to this country and be able to showcase Filipino basketball, and I want to thank Latvia for that," Brownlee said after the semis loss.
Other players, meanwhile, took to social media their pride in the Philippines' run.
"Hindi man nag tagumpay sa layunin, pero isang karangalan ang ipaglaban ka inang bayan," Calvin Oftana wrote on the caption of his social media post.
"We win together, We Learn Together," said Kevin Quiambao on the caption of his post.
"Always an honor to represent the country," Mason Amos, on the other hand, wrote in his post.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone said the team will "move forward and get better" following the loss.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
