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Which Gilas Fan Are You?

It’s the time of the year again. When all Pinoy basketball fans from the world over get excited and glued to their televisions, laptops and smartphones.

FIBA Asia is here. And the prize at stake is a solitary Olympic spot next year in Brazil.

It wasn’t easy getting back to regular Gilas programming. When we thought we’re up there and settled after the World Cup, our national sports pastime has been dealt with the biggest blow so far in its formation. Start from scratch na naman.

It was not a walk in the park for Coach Tab Baldwin in building Gilas 3.0. And FIBA's Most Valuable Fans know that. Now Gilas fans are alive once again. And you can see them in a variety of forms and expressions. Sometimes funny and at times getting overboard and weird.

So, here we go. Which Gilas fan are you?
#CoachChinta is the Keyboard Analyst. You go check out the forums and when basketball is talked about, be mesmerized by this kind of Gilas fans. They are smart. Brilliant and hoops-savvy. They’ll sweep you off your feet with their technical know-hows of this game we love. Minsan iisipin mo, baka sikat na basketball coach nga ito na ayaw magpakilala sa forums. Also you’ll read by their comments on social media and realize na mukhang mas magaling pa sila sa coach. And if we argue with this type, the best rebuttal we have on them is: “O siya, ikaw na magaling, kaso hindi ka ang Gilas coach eh.” But you’ll love this bunch of Gilas supporters. They dissect plays and offensive systems of Gilas’ opponents. They are basketball geeks so that Gilas coaching staff can easily hire them to be our team’s advance scout!
For some Gilas 3.0 absentees (did I hear someone shout JuneMar Fajardo?), they must have loved this defense: “Hindi naman natin ma-please lahat ng tao eh”. On the other hand the #HardToPlease fan is someone you CANNOT, well, ever please. Para sa kanya, palaging may mas magaling. Para sa kanya dapat si ganito o ganyan ang nasa line-up. Dapat si Jawo pa din ang coach. Pero what’s very reassuring about this type of Gilas fan, eh mahal pa din nila ang Team Pilipinas. Manonood yan ng laro. At magchi-cheer yan. Minsan impit yung cheer. Pero deep inside, lundag sa tuwa yan sa tuwing makaka-shoot si Abueva na hate na hate niya at ipinagtatakang nakapasok sa line-up. 
The line-up has been submitted. The Final 12 has been announced. The games are about to begin. Pero si #BoyBitter na hindi talaga maka-move on. Paulit-ulit siya sa comments sa Facebook na dapat si Aguilar naisama. At si JMF ay walang yagbols. Grabe yung galit niya sa mga taong naimbitahan 
ngunit nang-Indian. Iritado pa din siya na akala mo ay mababago ng galit at inis niya yung Final 12 natin para sa FIBA Asia 2015. Ganunpaman, Gilas fan pa din siya. At dahil mahal niya lang talaga ang ating koponan kaya siya nainis ng lubusan at bitter paminsan-minsan (o diba, it rhymes).
Eto yung closet Gilas fan. #kaLURKi is so excited and reads every Gilas article that is written. He follows everything about Gilas. Pero hanggang lurk lang talaga. Shy ipahayag yung nararamdaman. Reserved na ipakita yung lagablab ng damdamin niya para sa bayan. Kahit comment-na-comment na siya dun sa Terrence Romeo post sa Facebook, eh hindi talaga keribels, so lurk pa more! Pag tiningnan mo sa panlabas parang wala lang. Magugulat ka nalang kapag bigla siya napasigaw ng “Yes!” sa office cafeteria habang pinapakita yung replay ng dakdak ni Ganuelas-Rosser. Sa isip-isip mo, aba’y akala ko volleyball and sport nitong kaopisina ko?
Maraming Gilas fans ang certified #AlDub fans. Pero hindi sila 'to. Eto yung Gilas fan na ang akala niya tayo’y naghahanda para sa SEA Games. Maiinis ka kasi, ang ganda na ng kwentuhan habang nasa tatlong oras na trapik, tapos ibibida niyang magaling yung nakuhang coach ng Gilas na si Chot Reyes. Tulog sa pancitan. Si #AlNoob din yung madalas isingit at imungkahi sa line-up yung mga obvious na FIBA-ineligibles as natural-born locals katulad nila Stanley Pringle, Cliff Hodge at Lebron James (oops, eto na nga siya). Wala rin kawala sa kanya kung bakit kumukuha pa ng import katulad ni Blatche yung Pilipinas. Pero huwag ka, grabe yung passion nya na manalo ang ating koponan. At para sa kanya siya ay number 1 Gilas fan, at marami pa siyang alam na ayaw mo nang alamin pa!
Not the famous mobile game. But #COC is "Club Over Country". These fans are uber-loyalists to their PBA clubs. Para sa kanila mas importante yung makitang mapabilang si idol sa Grandslam team nila kesa makapaglaro sa Gilas. At kung napabilang man sa Gilas yung player mula sa paborito niyang team, mas pahahalagahan at bibigyan nya ng credit yung PBA Team nung player. Sample ng tweet niya: “Eh halos kalahati kaya niyan TalkN’Text, husay ng #TNTnation ano?” O kaya’y “Alaska yan, pasalamat kayo sumali siya sa Gilas”. But you’ll see that the love for country is actually a given. The desire to win as Gilas is clearly there. At the back of their mind, these Gilas fans are simply proud of their PBA team idols and looking forward for them to be vital cogs of our Gilas team. 
Nobody uses the word “tibak” nowadays, tama ba? Hindi po siya yung underwear. Kapag sinabing “tibak” sila yung mga matatapang na lumalaban sa administrasyon o di kaya’y kontra sa mga pwersang mapang-api sa lipunan. Eto yung mga Gilas fans na hanggang ngayon ay tuloy ang hashtag Boycott SMC o di kaya’y Booo PBA. Ibagsak si Kume at si CEO! At forever galit kay RSA sa mga tweets at FB posts. You really admire the #Tibak2Back's passion for the National Team so that they despise the alleged unfair and selfish acts of the PBA and some PBA clubs and officials in derailing the smooth development of Gilas Pilipinas. Yung dilemma nga lang ng mga ‘to eh, Oktoberfest na!
Medyo madami din ‘to. Mga Gilas fans na siyang halos bumubuhay sa social media accounts ng FIBA. Ang kaso lang, palaging pinagpipilitan yung Gilas. Halimbawa yung feature nila eh Argentina. Aba’y iko-comment ba naman yung iconic na dunk ni Norwood kay Scola. Dyahe naman brader. Sila din yung kahit hindi patungkol sa Pilipinas yung pinag-uusapan eh, #LabanPilipinas #PUSO pa din and bukambibig. Madalas inuunahan na agad ng mga banyagang commenters kapag sila nauunang mag-comment ng: "Pinoy Pride in 3-2-1..." Kasi ini-expect na agad nila yung dagsa ng Gilas fan comments. But you'll love the #SawsawSuka fans. Maybe they’re just excited and too proud of the popularity and magnitude our Gilas has brought to the entire basketball world. 
Ito yung wagas ang pagka-adik sa Gilas. Sila yung nag-resign sa trabaho effective September 23 para masubaybayan ang mga laro ng Gilas. Katulad nung facebook post na nagtatanong kung gaano ka ka-dedicated para sa Team Pilipinas, at hanggang saan ang kaya mong ibigay at ialay (katakot lang, medyo cultic borderline na ang dating ano). At #Hardcore2TheBones nga yung mga sagot ng karamihan. Yung tipong a-absent sa trabaho makapanood lang. O kaya’y gagayahin daw si JuneMar at may "injury" para hindi muna makapasok sa school hangga’t gumaling. O kaya's sabihin sa jowa na may mga bagay sa ngayon na "hindi natin kontrolado" kaya pass na muna sa love-life. Look at that! Crazy, people might say. But these are the fans crazy enough to give it their all like our gallant 12 players who will give it their ALL as well. 
Alam na. The hashtag speaks for itself. Eto yung mga Gilas fans na natalo ng isang beses yung team, eh wala na. End of the world na. Sila yung hindi naniniwala sa "One More Chance". Ngunit. Subalit. Datapwat, sa pagkakataong nanalong muli ang Gilas ay bigla silang mala-alibughang anak na naglakas-loob na umuwi, bumalik sa kanilang tahanan sa paniniwalang kaya pala ng Gilas na lumaban at manalong muli. Fellow Gilas fans call them balimbing. Perhaps the #BalikLoob were just hurt. I-forgive mo na men. Everyone's hurt by an inevitable losing. But in the end they'll be always Gilas fans all the way. But wait until we're dealt with another loss (which we all hope not), and the vicious cycle just continues.
So which Gilas fan are you? I must’ve missed some characteristics and other types. Please feel free to hit the comments to add more.

Masarap talaga maging Pilipino! Akalain mong napagtatagpo pa din tayo sa kabila ng ating pagkakaiba. Our diversity is indeed our identity.

And we are: Gilas Pilipinas!

#LabanPilipinas #Puso

... follow @labapilipinas on twitter for some sports laundering!

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