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Villafuerte on Gilas Pilipinas: 'Puso is in their DNA'

Philippines | National

Villafuerte on Gilas Pilipinas: 'Puso is in their DNA'

By Ellson Quismorio

At A Glance

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte congratulated on Saturday, Oct. 7 the Gilas Pilipinas men's national basketball team for ending the country's six-decade drought in Asian Games gold.

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (Facebook)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte congratulated on Saturday, Oct. 7 the Gilas Pilipinas men's national basketball team for ending the country’s six-decade drought in Asian Games gold.

"Nagpakitang gilas ang Gilas. Truly, puso is in their DNA (Gilas showed its skill)," said Villafuerte as he hailed the squad for winning the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

"Puso" in Gilas lingo is the collective term for determination, perseverance, and that familiar "never-say-die attitude" in Philippine basketball.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said this was the country's first Asiad gold in hoops since 1962, when the national team led by the late basketball legend Caloy "The Big Difference" Loyzaga beat Japan in the finals.

For the Bicol solon, Gilas' triumph in the Asiad obscures its dispiriting finish in the FIBA World Cup in Manila, where it lost all its qualifying games and finished 24th out of the 32 country-tams.

Villafuerte said the team's feat in Hangzhou brought the Philippines "back to its erstwhile status as the king of hoops in this part of the world".

What made the Gilas victory much sweeter, he said, was that it capped an uphill campaign by a team that was hastily assembled in just 12 days after most of the players from the FIBA tilt last month had to honor other commitments.

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Gilas Pilipias lray villafuerte

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