PHNOM PENH—The Philippines takes on Malaysia on Tuesday to kick off its men’s basketball redemption bid in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Morodok Elephant Hall here.
The Nationals take the floor at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. in Manila) against the Malaysians, a team that poses less threat in Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign to erase the horror of last year’s loss to the Indonesians in the final.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel import Justin Brownlee leads Gilas as a naturalized player debuting in SEA Games play. He first played in Gilas uniform in Window 6 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Also in the team are Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Christian Standhardinger, Chris Newsome, Arvin Tolentino, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
Collegiate players Mason Amos, Jerom Lastimosa and Michael Phillips are also in the roster.
Gilas’ bid to reclaim the gold will be a challenging one, with defending champion Indonesia bringing in former PBA import Lester Prosper as one of their naturalized players.
Host Cambodia is also bent on winning another SEA Games gold after ruling the 3×3 event last Monday, with naturalized players Sayeed Pridgett, Brandon Peterson and Darrin Dorsey leading the way.
“That’s the nature of the competition. We just have to make the best and play the game,” said Philippines coach Chot Reyes following Monday’s practice.