Malacañang congratulates Gilas Pilipinas on silver medal finish

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang Palace lauded the silver medal performance of Gilas Pilipinas at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, offering praise to the Philippine men’s national basketball team after falling to China, 78-67, in the final on Saturday, October 3 in Changsha, China. 

“We join the Filipino people in celebrating Gilas Pilipinas’ silver medal finish in the 2015 FIBA Asia Basketball Championships,” said Edwin Lacierda, Presidential Spokesperson, in a statement. 

“Throughout this tournament, our team displayed the Philippine brand of selfless, creative, passionate basketball, fuelled by the warm and vocal support of Filipinos at home and abroad. Our people have shown the world what it means to be Filipino, and this serves as inspiration for all of us to work even harder in our respective endeavors, fulfill our individual potentials, and secure the national pride we have reclaimed, one success after another, in varying fields.” 

The Philippines finished second in the tournament for the second straight time, falling just short of earning an outright spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics basketball tournament. Jayson Castro of Gilas Pilipinas earned his second straight spot in the Mythical 5, reaffirming his status as the best point guard in Asia.

The Philippines is still eligible to participate in the Olympic qualifying tournament in July 2016, which gives Gilas Pilipinas a slight chance of participating in the quadrennial meet for the first time since 1972.

‘We congratulate our players, our coaches, and supporters, and we encourage all our countrymen to continue their support for our athletes in general, and for Gilas Pilipinas in particular, as they continue to pursue our collective basketball dream of landing a berth in the 2016 Olympics,” the statement concluded. – Rappler.com