Moments after Gilas Pilipinas suffered an 83-90 loss to Italy on Tuesday evening, ending the Philippines’ hopes of advancing to the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Chot Reyes reached for his phone and promptly apologized to Manny V. Pangilinan.
After all, it was Pangilinan’s group that made the country’s hosting of the World Cup possible.
“Nag-text sa akin si Chot late last night with only two words sabi niya, ‘sorry boss’,” Pangilinan, the chairman emeritus of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, told One News.
“‘Di pa ko sumasagot kasi di ko alam sasabihin.”
After a failed bid to host the 2019 World Cup, Pangilinan improved strategies, presenting a more intricate plan for the 2023 edition of the tournament.
Along with Japan and Indonesia, the Philippines was awarded the hosting rights in December 2017.
However, the culmination of a long six-year plan ended in heartbreak for every Filipino as Gilas finished the opening round with a 0-3 record — the same tally it registered in 2019.
Apart from the loss to Italy, Gilas also fell to the Dominican Republic (87-81) in front of a World Cup-record crowd of 38,115 at the Philippines Arena. Two days later, Angola pushed the Philippines to the brink of elimination with an 80-70 victory at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
As a result, the Philippines became the first host to go winless in a preliminary round since Colombia in 1982.
“I feel for Chot; I have no doubt that he tried his best. I feel for the players; I have no doubt that they tried their best,” Pangilinan continued.
The Olympic dream, although slim, is still attainable.
In the classification round, the Philippines will face China and South Sudan, holding on to the hope that the other five Asian nations in the tournament will not find their groove in the classification phase.
“I hope the outcomes will improve our ranking from 40.”
