Gilas’ ‘sixth man’ gets praise from both sides after OT showdown

Fans back Gilas Pilipinas during a game vs Jordan in the Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas may have been the home team Friday night, but Jordan also enjoyed the crowd frenzy inside Mall of Asia Arena during their Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers matchup.

Just ask Freddy Ibrahim, who relished both the cheers and jeers from the Filipino crowd.

“I love coming here. They love basketball as you can see,” he told the Inquirer. “The crowd was vibrating. They always bring the vibes here and it’s always nice to play here.”

“But it would’ve been more fun to win.”

In front of 12,294 fans inside the Pasay sporting complex, the Falcons and Gilas duked it out to an overtime finish, with the Philippines coming out on top, 82-81.

Gilas came back from 18 points down, and while it was easy to credit the late-game efforts of Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao and CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos chose to laud the Philippines’ “sixth man.”

“We fell down by almost 20 points and we were able to comeback just because the crowd was cheering us on every play,” Ramos said.

Ibrahim and Ramos both drew energy from the packed arena, with the Jordan guard finishing with 22 points and Ramos adding 14.

That same Filipino crowd will be back for Gilas on Sunday when the home team takes on powerhouse Iran at 8 p.m. in another triple-header.