PHNOM PENH—The redemption campaign was supposed to be about the gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games but after Thursday night’s lopsided loss to a Cambodian side that looked more than a Team USA reinforced by locals, the fightback has been momentarily reduced to the pool play for Gilas Pilipinas.
Gilas Pilipinas tries to bounce back for a semifinals berth when it faces Singapore Saturday at the resumption of men’s basketball action at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2.
The Philippines enters the match at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. in Manila) hoping for a fightback from its 79-68 loss to Cambodia two nights ago.
Head coach Chot Reyes said the team needs to play better after shooting just 36 percent against Cambodia amid the sweltering heat inside the venue.
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee suffered from cramps and dehydration and scored just 10 points.
“It was just a terrible first half for us,” Reyes said. “You saw what happened. Justin couldn’t move, severely dehydrated. The heat really got to him. But later on, he played better but then he was cramping up already because he lost too much fluids.”
“It’s something that we can learn on and move on,” he said. “We go to the next game and then, prepare for the knockout semifinals.”
Tension flared when Cambodia coach Marcus Savaya called a timeout with 20.7 seconds remaining in the contest and the result already settled.
“I just want to be very polite. You all saw what happened. That’s just an unwritten rule, that’s just culture. And it’s not even coaching ethics, it’s just ethics,” Reyes said. “Just ethics, right? So, you know, if he wants to—if the other coach wants to make a fool of himself, then that’s on him. That’s not our problem.”
Singapore tries to play the spoilers’ role but it will be a difficult task, having lost to Cambodia, 85-60, and Malaysia, 93-70, in their previous contests.
Image credits: Roy Domingo