By REYNALD MAGALLON
Chot Reyes and Gilas Pilipinas found an unlikely ally in Italian head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco amidst the ongoing furor over the national team’s struggles in the 2023 World Cup.
Pozzecco offered good words for the Nationals who despite losing all of its three games in the group stage, managed to hold their ground better this time as compared to the team’s performance in 2019.
And for Pozzecco, that was something the Filipino fans should be proud of.
“I want to congratulate the coach of the Philippines and the staff and all of the players. You did an amazing job today. Not just (your day) today. You have to be proud of your players. You did a great tournament,” said Pozzecco after the Azzurri survived Gilas, 90-83, to book the last spot in the second round in Group A.
“You lost three games but you fought in all of them. All of those games. You have to be really proud of all the guys,” he added.
The Italy coach might be right. In fact, among all the Asian teams that competed in the World Cup only Gilas managed to keep in step with its opponents and avoided suffering blowout losses.
Gilas only lost by six, 87-81 against a Dominican Republic team spearheaded by NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns before dropping a 10-point decision against Angola, 80-70.
Pozzecco also reserved some good words for Gilas main man Jordan Clarkson who, according to him, displayed ‘amazing behavior’.
“Clarkson is a really huge star but he has amazing behavior. He plays with emotion, with art,” he noted.
“He was really involved. After the first game, he was on the bench after his fifth foul and he was really sad. Congratulations to all of you guys.”
Australia
