PHNOM PENH — Doubts had been raised when the Philippine nationwide males’s basketball crew fell to the Cambodian crew in a uncommon upset within the thirty second Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
But on the finish of the day, Gilas Pilipinas was in a position to get the job executed of their rematch in opposition to Cambodia within the gold medal recreation.
And head coach Chot Reyes was glad to see his crew stick collectively because the Filipinos reclaimed the gold after a second-place end within the earlier version in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“I don’t know if there’s anything else to say,” Reyes stated after Gilas pulled off an 80-69 win within the gold medal spherical on Tuesday.
“I know a lot of people doubted this team the first time we lost. But I did not tell you the first words in the dugout. I said this was the loss we could afford. And I thought we needed that loss, actually,” he added.
“We just kept our focus. Here we are. The players did a hell of a job. They stuck together,” added Reyes.
Gilas opened its SEA Games’ redemption marketing campaign in a rousing style, carving out a lopsided win in opposition to Malaysia, 94-49, with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Justin Brownlee displaying the best way with 15 and 11 factors apiece.
They, nevertheless, couldn’t construct on that momentum as they absorbed a shocking 79-68 loss to the hosts, which fielded a squad bolstered by a number of naturalized gamers.
That defeat made Gilas’ run more durable within the crossover semifinals, as they wanted to face the highest seed of the opposite group. That turned out to be defending champion Indonesia, which gave the Philippines a tough battle earlier than the Filipinos had been in a position to organize a rematch with Cambodia within the finals.
And they had been in a position to flip the tables on Cambodia of their second assembly, particularly due to a robust defensive effort.
“We kept this team of what, five, six imports to below 70 points. That was great defense, man. In the end, it was our defense that brought us to this gold medal.”
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
