MANILA, Philippines – NBA superstar Luka Doncic had a lot to complain about in his first game in Manila as Slovenia took on Canada in the 2023 FIBA World Cup knockout quarterfinals.

First, the 24-year-old phenom got endlessly hounded with pesky NBA defenders Dillon Brooks and Lu Dort, then he got on the referees’ bad side and got ejected for airing out his grievances just a bit too much.

Lastly, Doncic helplessly watched his team lose its World Cup title hopes from the locker room in the final six minutes of regulation as the loaded Canadian squad put the Slovenians out of their misery with a 100-89 ouster.

Despite an extremely frustrating night, the perennial All-NBA team candidate nonetheless did not forget the positive side of his emotions, and acknowledged the thousands of Filipino fans that made the Mall of Asia Arena look like a Slovenia home court.

“I was going to say [this] if nobody asked me. You know, I really appreciate the love. It’s been amazing. So many fans support me,” Doncic said in the postgame presser.

“[On Thursday] we have another game, hopefully we can give them the win and it’s been really, really amazing, so I really appreciate the love.”

Almost as some sort of penance for not making the semifinals, Doncic and Slovenia will have little to no rest as they immediately take on fellow European powerhouse Lithuania on Thursday, September 7, 8:30 pm, in the continuation of the classification phase.

There, Doncic can vent out all the frustration he wants – just maybe not on the referees again or other players – and have Filipinos unanimously behind his back with every dribble, layup, and jump shot.

Unless he opts out of playing in Slovenia’s no-bearing games, “Luka Magic” will run wild in Manila for two more nights, and he can count on Filipinos to make the most of every single second left in his presence. – Rappler.com

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