FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte missed the chance to show his support for Gilas Pilipinas anew after a last-minute change in plan made him missed out on the men’s national basketball team's game against Saudi Arabia in the FIBA World Cup qualifier on Monday night.
Duterte could have joined President Bongbong Marcos Jr. in cheering out the Filipinos as they battled the visiting team before a full-house crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in the final game for the August window.
See: President Bongbong Marcos expected to grace Gilas game at MOA Arena
But the former Chief Executive failed to show up at the game which the host team won, 84-46.
"Initially, yes (he was supposed to go), pero hindi na siya natuloy," said an aide close to Duterte.
Security was further tightened when talks about Duterte gracing the game began circulating hours before the game.
He would have seated opposite the side where BBM was located.
But two close allies of Duterte were around in Senators Bong Go and Ronald Dela Rosa, and sat in the section where the former president was supposed to be seated.
The 77-year-old former Chief Executive was also at the MoA back in 2016 when he did the ceremonial toss for the FIBA Olympic qualifier game against Gilas and France.
Les Blues were then bannered by former San Antonio Spurs players Tony Parker and Boris Diaw as they downed Andray Blatche and the rest of the Filipinos, 93-84.
This time, Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson displayed and wowed the crowd as he suited up as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player.
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