Tony Parker on 'unbelievable' crowd: Philippines is great for basketball

Tony Parker has played under electric atmospheres in the NBA, whether the Spurs play at home in the AT&T in San Antonio or on the road against other top basketball cities in the United States.

But he still couldn't help but admire the energy of the Filipino crowd when France played Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday night.

"It was unbelievable, the crowd was great. I was looking forward to the game," said the veteran French point guard, who scored 21 points in France's  93-84 victory.

Parker was cheered loudly when he was introduced, but once the game started he was heavily booed by the full house Mall of Asia Arena crowd every time he touched the ball.

The NBA All-Star took it all in stride, saying that he actually enjoyed playing in front of basketball-crazy Filipinos.

"I had a great time. The crowd, they tried to push everyone to beat us," he said. "It was a great game and I had a lot of fun. I can't wait to play more games here."

Parker earlier held a press conference on Sunday, and he admired the warm welcome of Filipino fans since the French team's arrival last week.

"It's getting very good since I arrived here five days ago, people are very friendly," he said. "Philippines is great for basketball." --JST, GMA News