BULACAN—The Dominican Republic’s Karl Anthony-Towns gave props to the hard-fighting Gilas Pilipinas, which managed to give them a tight match only to collapse in the fourth period on Friday night.
The lower-ranked Filipinos managed to stay toe-to-toe against the Dominicans until their top scorer, Jordan Clarkson, got ejected due to fouls.
Towns, known for his marksmanship, admitted being forced to attack the basket instead of doing his usual sniping against Gilas.
“I wasn’t making shots today; it’s weird; I’ve been making shots a lot,” said the Minnesota Timberwolves star.
Towns admitted Gilas worked hard to keep the scores close.
“They are a hard-working team. The Filipino culture, they are just really hard-working, and they do it with a lot of love they have for this game and their country,” he said.
“They came out and played that way; I respect them tremendously.”
Towns also paid tribute to the Filipino fans who greeted him despite seeing the nationals lose.
“I think the fans are great; the Filipino fans are amazing. I really appreciate the fans for so much love and generosity. I want to thank all the Filipinos, salamat, salamat!” he said.
See Related Story Here:
Watch: Filipino fans express admiration for Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns
