THE Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball has been drawn in a group separate from defending champion Indonesia in the coming cagefest of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Team Philippines has been bunched with Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar in Pool B.
The Indonesians, who beat Gilas for the gold last year, will be in Pool A along with Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia.
Despite their separation in schedules, Gilas coach Chot Reyes remains wary of the Indonesians.
“I think Indonesia this year will be even tougher than they were last year. And I know it’s the same thing with Vietnam and Thailand,” said Reyes.
Gilas is in search of good players with big men June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar, and point guard Roger Pogoy all on the injured list.
Team Philippines will have a bigger mission after the SEA Games, and it’s the coming 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“Not only Indonesia, but the other teams as well, like Vietnam, Thailand, those are important. As you know, without June Mar and Japeth (Aguilar) being questionable because he’s not yet fully 100%, we needed to get some size right now,” said Reyes.
For now, Gilas is settling for Brandon Ganuelas and Mike Philips to fill up voids in the squad.
Competition in the cagefest has returned to an old format.
Last year, Vietnam adopted a single, round-robin format which Indonesia topped after going unbeaten in six matches, including an 85-81 triumph over the Philippines.
It was the first time since the 1991 Kuala Lumpur Games that saw the Philippines took home a medal that was not gold.
