GILAS Pilipinas is not taking its feet off the pedal despite its success in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
The squad is also out to redeem itself from a failing to deliver in the Olympic qualifying tournament, according to prized playmaker SJ Belangel.
“Iyon ang kakalabasan ng system ni coach Tab, nagsisimula pa lang kami pero nakikita iyong achievement na nangyari pero hindi kami magpapasilaw sa achievement na ginawa namin and siyempre naglalaro kami para sa bayan,” Belangel said on the 2OT podcast.
“Hindi lang kami naglalaro para sa sarili namin and siyempre we had a tough loss pero deep inside of us gusto na namin bumawi agad,” he added.
The all-amateur nationals completed a 3-0 sweep of third window of the Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark and a 6-0 record overall to advance to the Asia Cup next month in Indonesia.
The Philippine five faltered in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, however.
The Filipinos lost both of their matches to world-ranked foes Serbia and Dominican Republic and failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games this month.
Belangel’s fellow ace guard RJ Abarrientos, a nephew of PBA great Johnny, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.
“Siguro learning experience nga iyong mga nangyari sa amin, ipinakita namin iyong kakayahan namin, iyong best talaga sa loob ng court pero siyempre para sa akin and para sa team hindi lang kami bata, hindi kami puwedeng batain dahil sama-sama naming ginagawa ito,” Abarrientos said.
“Kaming nagi-i-mprove tiwala kami sa coaches, sa system ng team namin, sa program ng Gilas kumbaga ilalaan namin lahat ng oras namin para sa bayan.”
