Heartbreak in Hanoi

Boxers bag 3 golds but phl loses crown that matters most

HANOI – Team Philippines took a dagger in the heart – a painful and tragic loss to Indonesia in the men’s basketball final – just as the 31st Southeast Asian Games was coming to a close.

It was a setback that will be remembered for a long, long time.

With a former NBA player manning the paint and the former Gilas Pilipinas head coach on their side, the Indonesians pulled off the unimaginable – an 85-81 victory at the Thanh Tri Sporting Hall here yesterday.

It’s the first time in 33 long years and 14 SEA Games editions that the Philippines failed to win the SEA Games gold in the sport closest to its heart.

For millions of basketball-loving Filipinos, it’s the only gold that matters in this biennial competition. And now, coach Chot Reyes and his decorated crew will go home with the silver.

The unthinkable happened here in Hanoi.

The Indonesians sealed the victory, magical as it may seem, with two free throws by former Cleveland Cavalier Marques Bolden with only three seconds left. Then Kiefer Ravena threw up a shot from way past midcourt and completely missed the mark.

It was Philippine basketball missing its mark as well.

The Indonesians, with former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman on the bench, celebrated their first SEA Games gold in men’s basketball like they won the gold in the Olympics.

Over 270 million Indonesians must have joined the celebration back home.

On the other side of the fence, the Filipinos bowed in defeat, in disbelief. They tried to put up a brave face before their supporters that made noise inside the arena, and before the cameras that beamed the game live back home.

“Our players played their best,” said Reyes after emerging from the dugout. “Indonesia came with a very good gameplan. They shot well from the three-point line. In the end, we just couldn’t match it.

“Obviously that’s on me. I take full responsibility for the result. Like I said, they tried their best, and that’s sports, that’s life. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we play.”

The loss came after the Gilas women’s team won the gold despite a 96-93 loss against Malaysia. It capped a dismal stint for Gilas Pilipinas, which also failed to defend the titles in men’s and women’s 3x3 here in Hanoi.

On a bright note, flyweight Rogen Ladon, featherweight Ian Clark Bautista and middleweight Eumir Marcial bagged the gold medals in boxing and sealed the fourth-place finish for Team Philippines in the overall standings. Flyweight Irish Magno lost in the final bout and settled for the silver.

Still, the Philippine campaign can be best described as a successful failure.

Close to 900 Filipino athletes and officials came here with high hopes of landing in the podium three years after winning the overall crown on home soil.

At that time, it was an achievable target.

But as the Games officially come to a close today in this Vietnamese capital rich in culture and history, the Philippines was on its way to a fourth-place finish among 11 nations.

As of mid-afternoon yesterday, the official medal count read 51 gold, 66 silver and 102 bronze medals for Team Philippines.

Three gold medals in boxing and one in 5x5 basketball helped seal fourth place for Team Philippines yesterday.

Vietnam spent close to $50 million to host the event and field 965 athletes that so far have won 188 of the 525 golds at stake with 110 silver and 109 bronze medals on the side.

The Vietnamese were so dominant that their gold medals in four sports alone – 22 in athletics, 17 in wrestling, 11 in swimming and 10 in wushu – were more than the Philippines’ total number of golds in 22 sports.

Team Philippines missed the podium behind Thailand with 78-92-125 and Indonesia with 62-81-70 but crossed the finish line ahead of Singapore with 47-45-67 and Malaysia with 38-44-83.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said he’d gladly take fourth place overall and 50-plus gold medals.

“We’re good. Remember our silvers (66). We are trying to analyze ilan dito ang subjective sports. Malaki ang effect nun,” he said.

“But we surpassed our past medal hauls. In 2015 (Singapore) and 2017 (Malaysia), we were sixth overall,” added the POC chief, who joined the Philippine delegation that took a 2 a.m. Philippine Airlines flight back home.

They were scheduled to land at the NAIA Terminal 2 at 6 a.m. today.

“Hindi man natin nakuha yung third overall, I still consider this campaign as very successful. In spite of the lack of training due to the pandemic, this is very successful,” he said.

The Philippines has never reached or breached the 50-gold mark in the SEA Games in the last 11 editions that it was not the host.

The last time the Filipinos won 50 or more golds was in 1993 in Singapore with 57. As host in 2005, they won 112 golds and in 2019 bagged 149 golds.

This early, Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez said Filipino athletes who competed here despite the limitations in training due to the pandemic deserve the praise.

“Let us not judge or criticize our athletes who have competed and are still competing in Vietnam. Let us not discourage them and continue to support them all the way,” said Ramirez.

“We are very happy and proud of our athletes and coaches who fought hard for our country and people,” he added.

“Happy na tayo,” said Tolentino.

That was before Gilas lost the gold it was supposed to win.