Gilas & puso; Napoles & pork

IT was all heart that got Gilas Pilipinas to beat South Korea in a game that truly mattered for basketball pride and honor of the nation. We were united for a moment, shouting our lungs out to egg our team to gain back their composure with the injury of naturalized center Marcus Douthit. With Douthit riding the bench, it was an all-Filipino five that engineered the return to center stage for a team created, molded and nurtured by a man called MVP and a bench tactician named Chot. It was championship caliber play Saturday night with an 86-79 victory. More than anything, it was personal for every Filipino in the SMX Arena for we have not beaten South Korea for that long. Defeating South Korea ensured our ticket to Spain for the FIBA World Championships.

It was still heart that got our Gilas Pilipinas fighting the giants of Iran last Sunday what with former NBA player, seven-foot-two Hamed Haddadi clearly just dropping every shot from the paint as if he was picking duhat in the backyard. Iran won with the final count at 85-71 against Gilas. Prior to this, Iran was undefeated in the tourney and averaged a margin of 30 points per victory with Haddadi able to rest for longer minutes compared with the game against Gilas. Still, it was plain heart and grit that got Gilas fighting every space and loose ball.