Photo credits to Nuki Sabio. Halos lahat ata ng pics ko sa blog, siya ang may-ari. Hehe

That loss punctured my soul. Chos

Seriously, though. Ang sakit.

Ang sakit sakit.


Siguro kasi I expected Gilas to win it all.

Siguro kasi I thought we could beat Iran with our home court advantage.

Siguro kasi I hoped for a "David - Goliath" scenario.

No amount of words can describe kung gaano ako ka-proud sa lahat ng players, coaching staff, at management ng Gilas Pilipinas.

Hindi ko ma-explain how much they made me so proud that I am a Filipino.

Alam mo yung feeling na yung mga laman loob mo feels warm? Or ako lang ata nakafeel nun. Lol

Pero kagaya nga ng sabi ko tuwing natatalo ang Ginebra (at talaga naisingit ko ang Ginebra wahaha), ganun lang talaga.

Talo. Yun lang yun.

Masakit, pero totoo.

May mga bagay lang talaga, na minsan, hindi talaga para sa atin.

No matter how much we want it.

No matter how much we pray for it.

No matter how much we work for it.

Kung hindi para kay Juan, hindi talaga para kay Juan.

Masakit matalo. Sobra.

Kahit pa sabihin mong sanay ka na. (Ginebra fan ako, go figure)

It would actually still hurt no matter how many times mo pagdaanan.

Funny kasi feeling mo kakayanin mo emotionally kapag natalo, pero kahit pa sabihin mong "handa" ka, masakit pa rin.

Pero just like every other loss, we have to accept it.

Accept that things are the way they are.

Tanggapin natin, learn from it, then move on.

Let's see the glass as half full. Actually the glass is overflowing pa nga eh, in my opinion.

We have so many things to be thankful and joyous for.

First, we're going to Spain in 2014!

Inferrrr, achievement yan! Isipin mo dati Jones Cup lang, ngayon World Cup na. Bigyan lahat ng jacket!

Next, no offense to Malaysia, pero let's remember that specific game and  marvel at how dominant Iran really is.

Naalala niyo ba nung awang-awa tayo sa Malaysia? Magaling lang talaga ang Iran, pero we held our ground. Hindi tayo na-Malaysia.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Wag tayong nega, remember: ang basurang tinapon mo, babalik din sa'yo.

Let's spread love and positivity. No to hate. Digital ang karma. Beware.

Finally, we actually gave Iran a good fight.

Kahit gaano pa ka-cliche pakinggan, we didn't drop to the floor and handed them the gold.

We made them work for it. The players didn't take it lying down. Gora kung gora!

I mean what more could we ask from Gilas, diba?

They made us happy. They entertained us. They gave us something to cheer our intestines out for.

They united us in a way that only Manny Pacquiao and Miss Universe probably did. Ibang level na kayo Gilas! Lol

So, thank you.

Salamat, Gilas Pilipinas.

For toughing it out. For giving everything you've got. For making us proud.

And while many could have wished for a dramatiic David and Goliath outcome against Iran, let's all keep in mind that there are bigger Goliaths waiting for us out there that we could take down.

Maybe Iran is actually not our Goliath after all.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll meet our Goliath next Fall.