The perception of Philippine basketball has changed after the brawl that occured between Gilas Pilipinas and the Australia Boomers last July 2.
While some are looking back at the ugly effects of that basketbrawl, Ateneo Pilipinas has done a tremendous job of slowly rebuilding the reputation back.
Before Ateneo Pilipinas left for the 2018 William Jones Cup, team patron and Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. president Ronald Mascariñas reminded the team that more than the wins, what is important is that they become good ambassadors for the Philippines.
And there was one moment that made Mascariñas proud of the team.
Last July 16, South Korea’s National Team held an 87-73 lead over the young Filipinos with 1:51 left. Korean big man Choi Junyong was hit by an inadvertent elbow to the gut by Ateneo Pilipinas’ Angelo Kouame. Choi fell to the floor, cringing in pain.
Instead of turning back and form a team huddle, Thirdy Ravena and Matt Nieto decided to help the Korean up. The two 23 for 2023 cadets then guided Choi to Korea’s bench, drawing applause from the crowd and the respect of the other teams.
“Yun accolades na nakuha nila from other teams, the Ateneo team earned the respect of all the other teams — they not only respected the way we play basketball. Itong collegiate team pa, yung sportsmanship na pinakita nila, they showed a lot of respect to the players, to themselves, and to the sport of basketball,” shared Mascariñas.
Because of this, Chooks-to-Go gave the two Ateneo players a token of appreciation for showing what Mascariñas calls a “supreme act of goodwill”.
“It’s a redeeming grace for us that they were really excellent, goodwill ambassadors for the country. Somehow, they’ve started the process of repairing the reputation of the Philippines. On and off the court, they really made a good account of themselves representing the country,” he closed.
