'Disgraceful': Bewildered MVP blasts Gilas loss to Cambodia
MANILA, Philippines – Business tycoon and longtime basketball godfather Manny V. Pangilinan voiced out his displeasure with the Philippine men’s basketball team’s 79-68 loss to Cambodia in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday.
The sports patron, popularly known as MVP in business and sports circles, took to Twitter to question the country’s basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), about the setback.
“What a disgraceful game for Gilas. An ignominious defeat which will be etched deeply in infamy. SBP - what happened?” tweeted Pangilinan, who is also chairman emeritus of the SBP.
What a disgraceful game for Gilas. An ignominious defeat which will be etched deeply in infamy. SBP - what happened?
— Manny V. Pangilinan (@iamMVP) May 11, 2023
The Philippines is on a mission to regain the basketball throne it lost in 2021, when it finished only second to Indonesia in the last edition of the biennial meet in Vietnam.
Although the Nationals went on a promising start after routing Malaysia, 94-49, in their opening game Tuesday, they ran smack into a Cambodian squad loaded with naturalized players.
The Filipinos struggled offensively and failed to match the host team’s size, athleticism and intensity in absorbing their first loss of the tournament.
And Pangilinan clearly did not like what he saw and might have just pushed the panic button.
- Latest
- Trending
