Dwight Ramos credits Pinoy fans for Gilas' second half push vs NZ

Wherever there is basketball, the Filipinos turn up.

That was also the case on Thursday as Gilas Pilipinas played against New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup as the crowd composed of many Filipino fans in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia made sure their voices of support were heard by the national team.

As Gilas tried to attempt a comeback against the Tall Blacks, Ramos said the crowd played a big role for being the sixth man of the squad.

"Yeah, I think the crowd definitely plays a big part especially when we're making a run. It just feels like the arena is about to explode because it's just full of Filipinos so just shout out to them and they're part of the reason why we came back," Ramos said.

Gilas may have fallen short in its comeback attempt against the Tall Blacks as they lost, 94-86, but Ramos hopes to bring their second half momentum in their must-win game against Iraq on Saturday.

"We know what we're supposed to do but we're still shell-shocked and we know they're going to shoot threes. We know they're going to play fast and we already knew that but they still did it. So [in the] second half we're playing the way we're supposed to and I'm just hoping that we carry this momentum to the next game," he said.

Gilas will take on Iraq on Saturday afternoon for a chance to move to the quarterfinals qualifiers.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News