BuzzerBeater Forums

Pilipinas Special Report: Filipino communities cheer NT and U21 teams

In a move of solidarity, Filipino communities in Bulgaria and Hong Kong displayed their support for the U21 and NT teams as they arrived at their accommodation in Sofia and Sheung Wan respectively.

Pushing the limits of social distancing protocols in the city, as many as 60 supporters were waiting outside of the Hyatt Regency in Sofia to great a visibly dejected Seniors squad as they alighted from the team bus. The team was surprised to see people waving the flags of the country while singing “Noypi” by Bamboo. Others were raising “We Believe”, “Laban, Lord Woody” and “Laban, Pilipinas” banners while cheering the team on as they enter the hotel lobby.

“I do not know what to say. That was a tough loss (vs Bulgaria), but we have to focus on the next round. I am happy to see our fanbase come over to support us despite the loss. As a naturalized coach, I am honored to have experienced the hospitality of the Filipino people,” Coach Lord Woody said.

“It’s nice to see your kababayans believe in you even after you played a bad game. That gives us the motivation to do better,” said shooting guard Kidlat Calabria. He finished the game yesterday with 10 points in 19 shots, including 0 of 10 from behind the arc. A couple of fans managed to get to Calabria, giving him a show of support and a hug before he entered the hotel.

In Hong Kong, Pilipinas supporters lined up on Connaught Rd Central to cheer the U21 team bus as they headed to their place they’re staying at after losing against Taiwan, 67-83. A loudspeaker started playing “Puso” by Sponge Cola the moment U21 players and staff started to alight from the vehicle. They were greeted by supporters raising placards that read “Laban Pilipinas!”, “Pilipinas U21 #1”, “We love you!”

“The support is unbelievable, I promise you we will do everything we can to win,” said Coach Jeorge.

Both teams spent 15-20 minutes to thank the people who attended before entering their respective lodging to prepare for the next round.

NT Press Release: Pilipinas demolishes Egypt, 121-38

Team Pilipinas was expected to win against Egypt Monday night, the question was by how many points.

As the first phase of the Consolation Tournament drew to a close, The feisty Filipinos were targeting a win by at least 80 points to move up the standings. “Before the game I told my boys to give no quarter against the Egyptians. It’s a given we will win, but we need to ensure our standing in the Tournament is good enough such that we face an easier opponent when we get to the single elimination phase. I am happy we achieved our goal, winning by 83 points,” Coach Lord Woody said via text message Tuesday morning.

Team Pilipinas’ balanced attack was led by Prudence Oton and Gabriel Hosillos, who finished the game with 19 points each. “Everyone in the team can score, as well as contribute elsewhere when given the opportunity. I look forward to playing our next game against the Swiss,” Oton said during the post-game conference.

The 83-point win gives the Philippines the 12th seed in the single elimination phase of the tournament. They face 21st ranked Switzerland on Monday, February 22. “Getting in the Final 32 is easy. Making sure you stay in the Final 32 is a different thing. We will raise the black flag on Monday: We will train hard and give it our all,” Lord Woody said.

Sidebar:
1) #labanPilipinas is now trending 5th in BB-Twitter

2) The God of Kicks endorser wishes Ramsey Paspe “Good luck” against the Swiss, and to “Come home after the game.”


Last edited by fpanzer10 at 2/17/2021 3:40:30 AM

Congrats coach! Excited for the hosting next season! Lets go!

Thanks for helping us get back on track. I dont want to aim too high next season just steady progress is fine. We need to crack top 20 in rankings and ultimately top 10 later on. Long term commitment is needed and steady growth. I know you have a nice staff going and hope that other community members pitch in and start believing we can accomplish greater things. My player just made u21 last week, dont have enough resources to buy a high level trainer or to improve facilities if i can do it so can everyone else. Eveeyone just needs to buy in.

NT Press Release: Pilipinas beats Switzerland, 73-49

Team Pilipinas advanced to the second round of the Season 52 Consolation tournament, beating Switzerland on Monday, 73-49.

“We really need to work on our scoring efficiency. We cannot afford to shoot 35-40% in the field in the next round,” Coach Lord Woody said via text message when asked to comment on the team’s win. “The saving grace was the Swiss could not convert their 3-point shots. Had they made 5 or 6 of those shots, we would have changed our game plan.”

Bigman Royce Cardino led Team Pilipinas with a double-double, tallying 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists in 28 minutes of playing time. “It was close in the first quarter, good thing we were able to regroup and outplay them in the second quarter to pull away.”

It was tense moment when the Filipino faithful found out Macedonia had a chance in knocking out favorite Estonia in their elimination game. The crowd cheered for the Macedonian team as the Estonian lead was down to 3 with less than 2 minutes left in the game. Estonia eventually won, 108-100. “I was hoping we would face Macedonia in the next round, but playing against Estonia is also fine. If they were able to keep it close and almost beat the Estonia, what more if that were us? We will make our preparations, I can promise we will give it our all when we face them this Monday”, Coach Lord Woody said also in a text message.

Filipino fans celebrated the victory by buying all the Swiss cheese they can find in patisseries around the Back to Back Arena.