eGilas Pilipinas at the eFIBA World Finals Qatar Season 4. Photo from Laus Group Esports
eGilas Pilipinas coach Nite Alparas shared Sunday how "locked in" everyone was in the national squad en route to a breakthrough world title.
The Philippines ended a title drought in the eFIBA World Finals Qatar Season 4, sweeping Türkiye to be crowned world champion in gaming title NBA 2K.
READ: Esports: eGilas sweeps Türkiye to clinch breakthrough eFIBA World title
Alparas said that from start to finish, the squad composed of Miguel Carlo “LGE_miguelcarlo” Hubillar, Chris “LGE_iLuvio-“ Briones, Kenneth “LGE_Clue-“ Gutierrez, Joshua “LGE_JMacc” Machado and Prich “LGE_DonP” Diez was hungry to win it all.
"Actually sobrang locked in talaga ng team from the start palang ng season na to. Lahat gutom manalo. During this whole tournament alam namin na iisa lang ang goal naming lahat. At yun ang maiuwi ang gold," Alparas told ABS-CBN News.
"Coming to Qatar, sobrang sharp ng mindset namin. Alam namin na kaya naming lagpasan kung sino at ano man nakaharang sa goal namin," he added.
eGilas Pilipinas coach Nite Alparas. Photo from Alparas/Facebook
The NBA 2K mentor said that they dedicated hours just to study their opponents.
"Since day 1 na dumating kami dito sa Qatar, every night we spend 3 hours just to plan and review the games of our opponents. Then nung nakarating kami sa grand finals we know na kaya namin mauwi yung championship para sa Pilipinas," he said.
They had a dominant run, only dropping one game in the two-day tournament to win the title, capped by a two-game sweep of Türkiye in the finale.
It was a breakthrough, after finishing fourth-place in the past.
"Coming from heartbreaks, winning it now means everything not only for us but also to all the Filipinos. Because when one of us wins, it feels like everyone wins. The joy, pride, and celebration are shared by an entire nation," said Alparas.
"This victory is for all those who continued to believe in us, and we are honored to bring this moment home to the Philippines."