HANOI – Gilas Pilipinas is facing the same old problem as it gets the ball rolling in the 31st Southeast Asian Games here.
It’s the lack of time.
“That’s our biggest concern,” said head coach Chot Reyes yesterday after the team practiced for today’s big game against Thailand.
The Filipinos were initially given only 30 minutes on the court. But they managed to borrow some time from the women’s squad to stretch it to an hour.
It was like trying to accomplish a lot of things in so little time.
Prior to its arrival here Friday evening, Gilas, seeking its 14th straight SEA Games crown and 19th overall, trained with a depleted lineup.
But that’s water under the bridge now.
Reyes is now looking forward to the 3 p.m. match (4 p.m. Manila time) with the Thais at the 1,000-seater Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
That’s a different “problem.”
“It’s going to be really tough (the Thais). They have three Americans in that lineup,” said Reyes, who’s been through bigger battles with Gilas.
“We know very little about them and how they play. They have a new coach. So we can’t rely on the past games,” said Reyes.
The women’s team under coach Pat Aquino kicks off its title defense at 10 a.m. against Indonesia.
Spearheading the mighty Gilas campaign is June Mar Fajardo, the six-time MVP in the PBA, and fellow holdovers of the 2019 SEA Games squad – Troy Rosario, Matthew Wright and Kiefer Ravena.
Also in the lineup are Roger Pogoy, Mo Tautuaa, Kib Montalbo, Isaac Go, Will Navarro and Lebron Lopez.
“The kind of opposition that we have here is serious. They are a serious threat. We already saw what happened in the 3x3,” said Reyes.
“Those are the guys,” he said of Thai players Moses Morgan, Frederick Lish, Antonio Price Soonthornchote and Chanatip Jakwaran, who won the gold in men’s 3x3 the other day.
The other guys to look at are those from Indonesia, which boasts the presence of former Cleveland Cavalier Marques Bolden, who at 6 feet 10 inches will surely pose a big problem for Gilas.
Then there’s the host team, which has several Vietnamese-Americans in its lineup that is seeking a podium finish.
“Everybody’s expecting us to win the gold,” said Reyes.
That’s not as easy as ABC.