Gilas Pilipinas Youth coaches LA Tenorio and Richard del Rosario fired back at their critics following their heartbreaking exit in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Tenorio said he remains proud of his boys despite becoming the first Filipino squad to bomb out of the quarterfinals in the 16-year history of this event that serves as a gateway to the FIBA U17 World Basketball Championship in Turkey next year.

The Filipinos had a dismal campaign in this prestigious age-group tourney.

They opened their bid with an 82-101 loss to Chinese Taipei before suffering a 54-85 heartbreak to New Zealand. Although they posted a 107-105 win over Southeast Asian rival Indonesia, their 66-79 miscue against Bahrain formally booted them out, making them the first national squad to miss the knockout stages.

Still, Tenorio believes that they have nothing to be ashamed of.

“The outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, but I want to acknowledge the incredible sacrifices and resilience these young boys have put in. Their dedication, hard work, teamwork and sacrifices have been inspiring since Day 1. And with that, I am so proud of these boys,” said Tenorio in a social media post on Thursday night.

“This loss doesn’t define us. It’s a stepping stone for greater things ahead.”

“Let’s learn from this and continue to strive for excellence! Ipaglalabanan ko kayo hanggang sa dulo! At hanggang sa huli lalaban tayo para sa bayan.”

Tenorio’s lead deputy, Del Rosario, was more blunt, stressing that the hard work and sacrifices of the players should be appreciated. In fact, they were juggling studies in the morning, school training in the afternoon and national tea training at night just to prepare for this continental showpiece.

“Not everything was seen on TV or YouTube. It doesn’t show the sacrifices of the players when they were taking Angkas while raining just to attend training. They were training for their schools in the afternoon then attend Gilas training at night so they will be home before midnight,” Del Rosario, also the team manager of Gilas Pilipinas men’s team, said.

“Remember that these kids are just 16 years old. While you were criticizing them, they were holding their rosaries and playing for the country. No excuses, we lost. A lot of work needs to be done to get back up.”

Then, Del Rosario took a playful swipe to the so-called “geniuses.”

“To the geniuses, check my comment on the last picture,” Del Rosario said, pointing at the last photo of what seemed to be a facade with the word “Tse.”