Gary V, Mark Caguioa among celebs proud of Gilas Pilipinas effort in defeat

The Gilas Pilipinas set the Filipino Twitterverse on fire after its thrilling match against Croatia on Saturday in the FIBA World Cup.

The Philippines lost in overtime, 81-78, but fans and supporters remained in high spirits after witnessing the fighting heart of the national team. Gilas climbed back from a 23-9 deficit in the first quarter, before grabbing the lead in the fourth quarter and later forcing overtime.

Filipino celebrities joined the legions of fans expressing their pride for the team, which was earlier tagged as one of the "weakest" squads in the tournament by ESPN.

I am truly truly proud of #GilasPilipinas??...na sa top 4 and Croatia sa Euro league. It's a good way to inspire the future bballers oF RP!

— GARY VALENCIANO (@GaryValenciano1) August 30, 2014

Para sa akin panalo parin tyo we showed everyone that even tho maliit tyo we will fight till the end.

— Mark Caguioa (@officialMC47) August 30, 2014

So proud of how hard #GilasPilipinas played tonight! Will be an exciting FIBA championship! Mabuhay ang Gilas at ang Pilipinas!

— lino Cayetano (@linocayetano) August 30, 2014

#GilasPilipinas has shown the world, in basketball height does matter, but heart is what makes the game exciting. #FIBAWorldCup2014

— Raffy Tima (@raffytima) August 30, 2014

Someone tell Chan the Pinoys are setting twitter on fire for him and the boys! #GilasPilipinas

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) August 30, 2014

Hold ur head high Gilas! Proud of u guys! Good job!!! #OnToTheNextGame #LabanPilipinas #PUSO

— Asi Taulava (@agelessasi88) August 30, 2014

Great game guys!!! That was world #16. Bogdanovic best euro player, saric #11 draft pick #puso #pusoko #labanpilipinas #iloveyou #ha

— Sonny Angara (@sonnyangara) August 30, 2014

What an inspiring performance by #GilasPilipinas a really exciting game and an incredible effort by the players #PinoyPride

— Chris Greatwich (@chrisgreatwich) August 30, 2014

I don't care about the loss. Man I'm proud. We belong. These guys are heroes! What a performance. we showed the world today what heart means

— Charles Tiu (@charlestiu) August 30, 2014

PUSO #notenoughhashtagsforthis

— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) August 30, 2014

MABUHAY PILIPINAS!

— Ramon Bautista (@ramonbautista) August 30, 2014

— Marisse Panaligan/JST, GMA News