A sizable crowd trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday evening to witness Gilas Pilipinas begin its campaign in the 30th Southeast Asian Games versus Singapore.
Stanley Pringle admitted that it was his and the Filipino dribblers’ very first time not just to play together, but to play in front of such a huge crowd. Still, that didn’t put pressure on them.
Instead, they fed off all the energy. And that brought a great result in the end, much to the delight of the fans.
The all-pro squad tore the Singaporeans apart by a whopping 52 points, 110-58, sending a chilling message to the rest of the field that they’re out to keep the hold of their throne.
“The crowd is great,” said Pringle, who had 14 points. “We had a packed stadium tonight, so we just wanted to play as hard as we can, focus on execution, and give back to the crowd.
“It was our first time playing together in front of a big crowd. We just tried to come out and focus on our execution, and try to give the crowd a good game.”
Pringle himself seemed energized by the fans, scoring the Philippines’ first eight points. He then had 11 in the opening frame alone as he helped his side erect a 30-13 cushion.
For the Filipino-American guard out of Penn State, they are all just doing whatever they can for the team.
“We’re just trying to play as hard as we can for the country, represent the country, the motherland,” he said. “We’re gonna leave it out on the floor. That’s what we can focus on.
“We’re all focused on our goal, and that’s execute and play as hard as we can, play as a team, leave it on the floor.”
