Day 6 : Easy game vs Hong Kong

This is actually deja vu for me, I remember the day in NZ , 6^th day in the tour, we just landed in beautiful Auckland.  So much to see for a tourist,  I brought Marcus to the ciropracter for a nagging injury, as we are going to play the weakest team in the tour the Rangers, I expected Marcus to sit it out – easy game anyway right?  Marcus told me he’s never missed a game in FIBA Asia , and said if this was FIBA Asia he would be playing. I totally agreed the main thing is you have to be healthy.  The rest of the team was in total relax mode ,  joking around with their new place to see. (the Sky Tower bungy jump was there for anyone to dare try it) , LA asked about the team they were playing tonight , I said they were “mahina” weak.  When we entered the arena, it was packed with Filipino fans all greeting us like heroes. It was like we came in for a party not a game.

Fast forward August 7,  the team probably had a hangover from last nights big win over Qatar. As usual sleep and rest is what players normally do before the game..  I decided to catch the Qatar vs Chinese Tiapei game on TV in one the restaurants in Makati (it’s the 2^nd quarter the game is close),  Jimmy , Gabe and Marcus decide to watch the game as well,  hey Qatar just posted a double digit lead,  wait let’s start cheering for Chinese Tiapei so Qatar does not bring the lead to 16 points (if they do their 1^st seed),  Oh no we cheered too much , Tiapei tied the game with like a minute to go J.   But they had enough to get the W.   Wow we’re the 1^st seed , ..Hong Kong next, that’s mere formality.  I don’t know what it is but you really can kind of predict when a team is going to play well or not based on their demeanor. It’s the game face thing.  Gilas didn’t have it they were too relaxed , no pressure (pressure is good sometimes). The team enters the MoA much like they did in Auckland, joking around , photo opps from fans etc.. Whew this will be a “walk in the park” ..   We all know what happened next..