TAKE it from Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone, there's nothing quite like the Filipino crowd.
"It's funny. Our crowds always take a personality of their own," said Cone, seasoned by decades of experience coaching in front of some of the most animated basketball fans in the world, both in the PBA or in the international stage.
On Wednesday in the Philippine men's national team's debut in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, it found a brand-new darling in Singapore center Lavin Raj.
The chubby bruiser, who's only 19 but has been a part of the Singaporean national team since 2017, has piqued the interest of Pinoy fans who cheered him on whenever he got the ball or defended anyone of Gilas' bigs.
"The collective yelling and screaming when their big guy got the ball was typical of the personality of our crowds," Cone said. "You've seen that in the PBA. They take a liking on some guy and they'll either applaud him or give him a hard time."
Lucky for Raj, it was the former. And he's greatly appreciative of the gesture despite being on the opposing side of the home team.
"I definitely noticed. They’re very loud, you know?" he said. "I'm honored to be here, to embrace the crowd and play a game here. The crowd can cheer for both sides. And you know, I’m really happy they liked the way I played a game and they are cheering for me. It’s great. I’m happy."
Cone even kidded that with the support Raj got in Wednesday's game, he won't be surprised that he'd soon find himself on TV.
"I was joking on the bench that he's gonna show up in a commercial tomorrow on TV cause he got so popular in one day," the veteran mentor said.
It wasn't the first time Raj faced off against a Philippine team as he has played here before during the 2017 Seaba Championship and as a part of Singapore Slingers in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

Wherever that may be, he always enjoys playing in front of these Filipino fans.
"They really are a great crowd," Raj said after posting five points and two rebounds in Singapore's 110-58 defeat to the Philippines in the biennial meet.
"Everywhere around the world, when I go overseas to play even with Alab Pilipinas and they come over to Singapore to play, the Filipino crowd is there. They’re everywhere. They’re really a great, passionate people.'
"They really have a good passion for basketball."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph