The chance to advance remains alive, and that’s all that matters.
As a predominantly Catholic nation, perhaps Filipino fans should claim and declare the words of Jordan Clarkson.
“Your prayers will be answered and blessed,” the Gilas star guard tweeted in the wee hours of Monday.
For it to work, prayers will of course have to be uttered. With the men’s national basketball team already suffering two losses and is about to face world no. 10 team Italy, the prayers may have to be tenfold.
This applies all the more when the goal, which is to finish as the best Asian team in the FIBA World Cup, remains.
“No matter how flickering that hope is, that hope is still alive,” Reyes said on Sunday.
To achieve that, they are staying in the present to face what’s in front of them—adhering to a trademark Coach Chot mantra.
“We focus on what's within our hands. There's a game to be played on Tuesday and we're going to come out and prepare as best we can to play a top 10 team in Italy. That's all we can do right now,” Reyes said.
Clarkson, who has been shooting an atrocious 34.8% from the field on top of 10 turnovers in two games, also promised to cast aside the dismay from the losses to Dominican Republic and Angola.
“We're going to keep fighting for you all. We're going to keep playing, competing."
Italy is also coming off a defeat at the hands of the Dominicana and will be hungry to bounce back.
The Azzurri are already zoning in on the Utah Jazz star, who has been leading Gilas in points and assists per game with 24.5 and 7, respectively.
“The Philippines, like the Dominican Republic, have a single great player and all around them, there's a good team. For sure, it's very important to limit this player. But you cannot stop them, they're so good, you have to limit them with teamwork and pay attention to the others because they're all good players,” said Italy veteran Gigi Datome.
The two teams clash at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow, Tuesday, at 8 p.m. Support Gilas live or watch through the Pilipinas Live app.