Photo from the Official Facebook page of Bongbong Marcos
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulated Gilas Pilipinas on Saturday evening despite losing to Brazil in the semifinals of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia.
“It was a great fight, Gilas Pilipinas! You have made us Filipinos proud and made history! We will always stand behind you in support. Bida ang bayaning manlalaro! ”Marcos said in a social media post.
READ: Gilas’ Olympic dream ends, bows out of Fiba OQT with loss to Brazil
Gilas Pilipinas’ dream of reaching the Paris Olympics ended after a 71-60 loss to world No. 12 Brazil in the semifinals of the Fiba OQT.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s funny; we didn’t expect to be here, but then when we got here, we’d expect to win. So it’s painful that we didn’t, especially having that halftime lead,” Gilas coach Tim Cone said in the post-game presser.
“Them (the Brazilians) going on a, what, 12-0 or 14-0 run on us to start the third quarter, was painful to watch. But there’s a reason Brazil’s 12th-ranked in the world, and they proved that tonight,” he added.