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#PUSO! Gilas hashtags, tweets rule social media during and after game vs. Croatia

Chris Lagunzad
Gilas Pilipinas, seen here celebrating after beating Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals of the 27th FIBA Asia Championship. (Czeasar Dancel/NPPA Images)

It was a loss that felt more like a big victory for this basketball-mad nation.

Gilas Pilipinas came up short in its upset bid against European powerhouse Croatia on Saturday night, dropping a stinging 78-81 decision in the opener of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville, Spain.

But the Nationals, together with the rest of their countrymen, surely held their heads high after a gallant stand against a heavily-favored Croatian side which is ranked 18 rungs higher than the PH team in the world at 16 and boasts of three NBA cagers, led by Bojan Bogdanovic of the Brooklyn Nets.

Several hashtags and topics, including #LabanPilipinas, #GoGilas, #PUSO, JeffChan, Blatche, and even FOUL, trended on Twitter during the gripping game that lasted for nearly two hours, with the Gilas faithful and fans expressing their joy and admiration for the team. In the case of FOUL, it was in reference to the referees failing to call a foul supposedly committed by a Croatian player on Jayson Castro as the latter attempted a triple at the buzzer that could have forced a second overtime.

Former national team cagers Mark Caguioa of Barangay Ginebra, Asi Taulava of NLEX and Alaska’s Sonny Thoss were among the first pro cagers to express their satisfaction with how Gilas Pilipinas fought hard.

 

 



Former PH team member Kerby Raymundo also expressed his pride.


Incoming Rain or Shine rookie Kevin Alas and Chris Banchero of Alaska shared the same view.

 



Alaska assistant coach Louie Alas also tipped his hat to the Nationals.




Also patting the Nationals on their backs was Senator Pia Cayetano, a former skipper of the University of the Philippines women’s volleyball team who is also a big fan of Gilas Pilipinas.



Former Azkals member Ian Araneta also lauded the Nationals’ valiant effort.



Actress Michelle Madrigal admitted she was also teary-eyed with how the Nationals gave their all.


Sports anchor Mico Halili, who also writes for Yahoo! Philippines as a blogger, was amazed with how the Gilas Pilipinas stayed behind by only 31-37 at the break. He later on tweeted after the game that he had a nickname for Blatche and that Gilas now had World Cup advantage.