Philippines basketball fans make their Fiba Asia Cup match in Hong Kong feel like Manila

Filipinos buy most of the tickets and provide vocal support to help their side turn a close contest into a comfortable victory in the tournament qualifiers

Coach Tim Cone says Gilas Pilipinas fans are ‘such an advantage that we have over a lot of other teams … wherever we go, there’s always support’

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Justin Brownlee of the Philippines (right) is challenged by Tsoi Lung-tak in Tsuen Wan. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 8:37pm, 23 Feb 2024Updated: 8:43pm, 23 Feb 2024

Hearing the deafening noise from basketball fans during the Philippines’ commanding victory over Hong Kong on Thursday, one could have been forgiven for assuming it was taking place in Manila.

In fact, the Fiba Asia Cup qualifier was staged at Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan Sports Centre, but Gilas Pilipinas felt like the home team, with about 80 per cent of the 700 seats snapped up by Filipinos.

“Yeah, that’s always the case, and I thought that really energised us in the third quarter,” Tim Cone, head coach of the Philippines, said. “We really heard the fans.”

The visitors managed a game-high 30 points in that quarter, while limiting the hosts to nine, to turn a four-point half-time lead into a 25-point advantage. The rest is history.

Oliver Xu, pictured shooting for Hong Kong, impressed the away team’s coach. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“[Our fans are] such an advantage that we have over a lot of other teams … wherever we go, there’s always support,” the 66-year-old from Oregon added.

“I just don’t think the fans really understand what a difference that makes when you’re on the floor and you hear the crowd cheering and roaring – it really builds your momentum.”