By MARK REY MONTEJO
BOCAUE, Bulacan – Karl-Anthony Towns of Dominican Republic knows full well how passionate the Filipinos are when it comes to basketball, so naturally he brought with him his A-game.
His massive effort paid off in the form of an 87-81 win over host Gilas Pilipinas to jumpstart the Dominicans’ title bid in the 2023 FIBA World Cup at the Philippine Arena on Friday, Aug. 25, here.
Towns, who started playing for the Dominicans’ national team when he was 16, left the arena with a wide smile on his face – part of it was for overcoming a young and determined warrior in AJ Edu.
They engaged each other in a highly-competitive “pushing and shoving” encounter down low.
“I think he’s a fantastic player, [I] love the competition he brought tonight. He makes me better,” Towns stressed.
“Filipinos are [have] a culture that doesn’t give up and they play hard, that’s I expect, nothing but a hardworking people” he added.
Despite the daunting task of guarding a certified NBA superstar – Towns played for the Minnesota Timberwolves – Edu still contributed offensively.
The 6-foot-10 Edu registered seven points and five rebounds – not to mention the intangibles he provided.
About the record crowd of more than 38,000 – President Bongbong Marcos and son Sandro included – Towns, 27, said: “It was amazing!
“It’s amazing, I’ve never been here, I’ve been dying to come here. The fans are nothing but amazing to us, the people are amazing
Towns also paid tribute to the support of his Filipino fans, calling them great and fantastic.
“[I’m] very proud to be a Dominican here with the win, but also being very proud to meet [my] old fans, great fans here in the Philippines and being able to tell them “Salamat” [and] “Mabuhay”.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ center and his squad are set to collide with the Italians on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
