MANILA, Philippines — For Gilas coach Chot Reyes, losing wasn’t an option in the SEA Games so the weight on his shoulders was extremely ponderous. The challenge was daunting particularly as it was Reyes in the saddle when the Philippines lost the gold to Indonesia in the previous conclave in Hanoi. It wasn’t a situation for the weak of heart.
The road to Phnom Penh was rocky terrain. Reyes named a 28-man training pool but Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo and Mikey Williams, among others, weren’t available. Some were injured, others had family commitments. Then the PBA Governors Cup Finals ended two weeks before the start of the SEA Games, leaving Reyes little time to assemble the troops. A 4 1/2 day camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba was a cramming session but it was better than nothing.
In Cambodia, things got even testier. Organizers offered an outdoor practice facility on concrete and clearly, it wasn’t acceptable. Gilas team manager Butch Antonio found a sports club that had an indoor court but the flooring was a linoleum tarp which was par for the course as it was the same surface as in the actual playing venue. The arena wasn’t air-conditioned and setting up 25 cooling units proved to be a futile exercise in diffusing the heat. Playing conditions were horrible but every team faced the same predicament. Complaining was useless. It became a race of which team could adapt the quickest.
Worse, Gilas suffered a casualty in its first game against Malaysia as starter Calvin Oftana slipped on the tarp, straining a calf muscle, in the first half and never returned the rest of the tournament. In the second outing against host Cambodia, Reyes started Brandon Ganuelas Rosser and CJ Perez to join Chris Ross, Justin Brownlee and Christian Standhardinger. It was no surprise that Cambodia’s Armenian-Lebanese coach Harry Savaya used a seven-man rotation and kept five locals warming the bench. Of the seven players, five were naturalized and one was Cambodian-American. Cambodia had more rebounds, 52-47, assists, 17-13 and fastbreak points, 13-4. As expected, the five American tourists showed the way. Cambodia took 36 three-point shots and 40 two-pointers in knocking down 12 triples to Gilas’ five. The 21-point difference in three-point connections was also Cambodia’s largest margin of the game. Brickbats were thrown at Reyes for the setback. Some fans wondered why Gilas didn’t naturalize more players since it was known that Cambodia would suit up a platoon of mercenaries a year ago. SBP, however, would have none of that, preferring to win or lose with dignity. Cambodia’s triumph with mercenaries who had probably not set foot on the country until answering the call of a paycheck was a hollow victory.
Gilas rebounded to whip Singapore, 105-45 then arranged a rematch with Cambodia for the gold after repulsing defending champion Indonesia, 84-76, in the KO semis. Indonesia led by 11 but Gilas turned the tide in the fourth quarter behind a 24-11 finishing kick. Indonesia enlisted two naturalized imports plus a Senegalese who was issued a passport before 16 but despite Lester Prosper’s 10 of 11 field goal shooting, ended up short. To make matters worse, Indonesia lost in the playoff for third and went from gold to dust.
In the final, Gilas led by as much as 13 and Cambodia’s biggest advantage was one. This time, Gilas had more rebounds, 40-36, assists, 14-13 and triples, seven to four. Gilas’ defense held Cambodia to 41 percent shooting from the field. Perez fouled out with 5:04 left after hitting a long triple that halted Cambodia’s 8-0 surge to open the fourth quarter. At the height of Cambodia’s rally, Reyes pulled out Arvin Tolentino, Ross, Standhardinger and Jerom Lastimosa to bring in Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Newsome and Rosser. The adjustment made all the difference as Gilas regained its composure to finish off the mercenaries. Gilas had its revenge and Reyes, his redemption.