RAYMOND Almazan and Allein Maliksi hold no grudges despite being left out of coach Yeng Guiao's 12-man roster for Team Philippines' closed-door home game against Qatar on Monday.
"Wala namang problema doon eh," said Almazan. "Everybody happy naman. Maging part lang ng pool, happy na eh."
Maliksi added, "We were given a chance to play na naman. The goal is to win and yun yung goal ng lahat. Our job is just to play and do our responsibility as a player and kung ano yung role na binibigay ng coaches sa amin."
The two were part of the squad which fell in Iran, 81-73, last Thursday, and although they won't have a chance to redeem themselves for the Philippines in this tiff against the Qataris, they understood the tough task the coaches had in coming up with the Final 12.
"Decision ng mga coaches yun. Alam naming masakit din sa kanila na mag-cut. Sabi nga ni coach Yeng, kung siya lang, gusto niya lahat kami makapaglaro eh. Alam namin na mahirap din sa coaching staff yun," Almazan said.
Both agree, though, that this won't be their last chance to don the national tri-colors.
"Kung may opportunity na makapaglaro, very happy. Kung hindi, yung mindset ng bawat isa is we are serving yung country to bring us to the World Cup. Yun ang main goal ng team na ito. We are lucky to be with this team in this pool," said Maliksi.
"Sobrang sarap maglaro under sa system ni coach Yeng," chimed in Almazan. "Hopefully, makasama pa rin ako sa next window and sa next pool. Kahit na na-cut ako, nandyan pa rin ako."
Though Almazan and Maliksi won't be in uniform on Monday, the two vowed to be there for the crew, cheering their hearts out even though they're the only ones inside Smart Araneta Coliseum supporting the Philippines.
"We're here to support kahit na na-cut kami," said Almazan.
Maliksi ended: "Kahit hindi kami naka-line up, nandito kami sa practice. We're trying to help them as much as we could. In terms of cheering, all-out kami."
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