MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said Gilas Pilipinas still deserves to be praised after showing “grit and passion” as they battled the more superior Italian team in their opening game in the FIBA World Cup 2019.

“Verily, its not always winning that counts; it is how the game is played. Our Filipino players honorably competed with grit and passion today, and for that they deserve our admiration,” said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Sunday, September 1.

Gilas Pilipinas suffered a 62-108 blowout loss to Italy on Saturday night, August 31, as the Filipino players struggled with multiple errors and turnovers as it rained 3-point shots from the Italians. (READ: In ‘must-win’ game vs Italy, Gilas Pilipinas fires blanks)

President Rodrigo Duterte personally watched the game in Foshan, China less than a month after he said Gilas Pilipinas would surely lose against Italy. Panelo previously said the President’s presence during the FIBA game should “inspire” and “challenge” Gilas Pilipinas.

On Sunday, the Presidential Spokesperson said Duterte “patiently and eagerly” watched the game as “our Filipino warriors valiantly fought their taller, bigger, shiftier and sharp-shooting Italian opponents, with their accurate three point shots.”

“Unfortunately, at the end of the buzzer, even as there were flashes of brilliance displayed by our players, albeit few and far between, our Filipino players had to yield to a superior rival. With the help of NBA players undoubtedly boosted by our own consistent errors in the game, the Italian team outplayed and out-scored our Filipino players,” said Panelo. 

Still, he said Malacañang believes Gilas Pilipinas would be able to bounce back from the tough defeat. 

“While we may have a suffered a defeat at this early stage of the competition, we must always remember that the true hallmarks of Filipino pride are resiliency in the face of adversity, perseverance in times of crisis, and triumph despite insurmountable odds,” said Panelo. 

“That is the spirit of what it means to be Filipino. Thus, we have no doubt that our nation’s team will bounce back with renewed heart in its next game,” he added. – Rappler.com