On Tuesday night, Chot Reyes once again faced boos from Filipino fans when he was introduced before Gilas’s match against Italy in the FIBA World Cup 2023 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Despite a late surge in the fourth quarter, the Filipinos failed to upset the world No. 10 Azzurri, with a final score of 90-83. This outcome dashed their hopes of progressing past the first round. Gilas now holds a 0-3 record in Group A and is set to enter the classification phase.
Gilas Pilipinas veteran Kiefer Ravena and young gun Rhenz Abando, who made significant contributions to the Philippines off the bench, appealed to the fans to cease booing Reyes during games and instead wholeheartedly support the national team.
“I know it’s been happening, but I’m gonna play for my coach ‘til the wheels fall off. This is something that I have to lead by example, [kami] ni Japeth [Aguilar] and most of the guys that have been here,” Ravena told Filipino reporters after the loss.
“Tao lang tayo, nagkakamali. Hindi ito ‘yung right time para sisihin kung sino man. Tao lang tayo, nagkakamali. Pinaglalalaban nya ‘yung bansa natin. Pinaglalaban namin. So dapat, sinusuportahan nyo pa rin siya kasi ayun nga, nagkakamali rin tayo,” Abando echoed.
This isn’t the first instance of Filipino fans expressing their displeasure with Reyes. The long-time national team head coach was previously booed by the crowd during GIlas’ home game against Saudi Arabia last year.
Ravena underscored the significance of the home crowd and expressed hope that moving forward, they can finally turn it into an advantage rather than a hindrance.
“It wasn’t the first time that’s happened, ‘di ba? Parang alam niyo naman yun. Lalaban kami. Again, we have to use this crowd as an advantage, not a disadvantage ‘di ba? Yun naman ang pinaka rason kung bakit natin dinala ‘tong event na ‘to dito,” said the two-time World Cup veteran.
“Yun lang, kailangan namin ma-flip yung script na gawin namin siyang advantage kesa kabahan kami, yung hindi kami nakakapaglaro nang maayos kasi naririnig namin kung ano yung ginagawa ng crowd. Pero at the end of the day, nagpapasalamat pa rin kami sa mga sumuporta pero sana from this stage on, malapit na rin namang matapos, suportahan niyo na lang kami,” Abando continued.
