Hali Long encourages fellow World Cup participant Gilas Pilipinas not to give up
At A Glance
- Filipinas skipper Hali Long encouraged fellow World Cup participant Gilas Pilipinas not to give up in their FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign.
Filipinas skipper Hali Long encouraged fellow World Cup participant Gilas Pilipinas not to give up in their FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign.

The 28-year-old Philippine women’s national football team defender is coming off a captivating run in the FIFA Women’s World Cup last month, where they took home the country’s first win, male or female, at the football showpiece over tournament co-host New Zealand.
The squad extended its support to Gilas after visiting one of their team practices ahead of the quadrennial meet.
“I would say not to give up. I mean, even though you have losses on your belt, it doesn’t mean it’s over. You’re working towards something else now. Something that also has a bright future,” Long told Manila Bulletin.
In front of the passionate home crowd, the Philippines fell short in all three of their group assignments against the Dominican Republic, Angola and Italy, relegating them to the classification round.
With two matches currently ahead of the Nationals as of writing, Gilas’ Olympic dreams, though alive, are on thin ice, reminding Long of their own journey at the world stage.
“I would say we kind of thrive in that area of being the underdog and always having something to prove,” she added.
“And it’s really nice that we have the home crowd advantage, I know a lot of fans are going. I mean, I would just tell the guys that pressure is a privilege and they are all privileged to be there to represent and wear the flag on their chest.
"So, just with that privilege do what you want, not everyone gets to be in that position. But they get to be there. They get to represent, they get to make our country proud, win or lose,” she concluded.