MANILA — Austin Reaves hooped during his 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup debut as he led Team USA to a dominant win over New Zealand.

• FIBA: Reaves, Banchero star as Team USA stands tall over New Zealand

The 6-foot-5 Reaves, who played for the first time in the Philippines, received a roaring welcome from the Filipino fans from the pregame player introductions.

Austin Reaves just received the loudest ovation of all USA players.

That Philippines love is as real as it gets. ♥️#FIBAWC X #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/LojOKne3cP

— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 26, 2023

The LA Lakers star said he was grateful for the love and support that he received, just like how he gets cheered when he steps on the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

“It’s special for me,” said the Arkansas native during the post-game press conference.

“I’m from a super small town. Not a lot of people expected me to be here to represent our country. So for them to accept me the way they accepted me, it means a lot to me.”

Reaves got cheered on every time he touched and shot the ball, making his 12-point, six-assist, three-steal, two-rebound performance seem bigger than they were, and he said that Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy told him that many Filipinos are die-hard fans of the 17-time NBA Champions.

“I kind of have seen it coming. I was talking to Phil Handy and he was telling me that they love the Lakers out here,” Reaves said.

He then touched on how his team must clean up on their turnovers, after ending up with 19 on Saturday night, if they wanted to go all out and reclaim the FIBA Basketball gold.

“Obviously, it’s not the start we wanted. We’re going to watch the film and learn from that,” he said as they fell to a 4-14 start after a pile of missed shots and turnovers.

“But our intensity and our physicality after the first five minutes was much better. Like I said, we’re gonna learn from this and move forward to Greece.”

The two squads, who both moved up to 1-0 in Group C after winning their first World Cup assignments, will lock horns on Monday, August 28, at 8:40 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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