PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes credited the effort of the players before and during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball semifinals against Indonesia that resulted in a gutsy win at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2.
Gilas Pilipinas advanced to the finals against Cambodia following an 84-76 win over Indonesia after overhauling an 11-point deficit.
See Brownlee saves day as Gilas beats Indonesia to reach gold-medal game
“Credit to the players for sticking with it,” said Reyes. “They didn’t give up. Indonesia is a hell of a team. They are a real team. They’ve been together for a long time. They know each other. Their system is very fluid. But I pay tribute to the guys for their grit and for not giving up.
“Just like in life, if you don’t give up, you continue to give yourself a chance. And tonight, we didn’t give up. We gave ourselves a chance,” said Reyes.
The players stayed on the practice court until midnight on the eve of the game, according to Reyes.
The group stage match between Indonesia and Thailand that determined which team Gilas will be facing was played on a Sunday evening, and the Nationals held practice following the game.
“We practiced until midnight. We had to wait for the Thailand-Indonesia game before we could practice so that we will know who we will practice for. Luckily, the preparations that we made in practice, I thought, paid off in that fourth quarter,” said Reyes.
Justin Brownlee keyed in that late charge where Gilas outscored Indonesia, 14-2, in the final stretch. The naturalized Filipino finished with 34 points to help the Philippines book a spot in the gold medal game.
“It was kinda discouraging,” said Reyes, referring to two buzzer-beating shots by Indonesia in the second and third quarters that killed Gilas’ momentum. “But we kept reminding the players and the coaches. Coach Tim kept reminding me to just stay positive. I think that’s what happened. In the end, we were able to pull it off. It’s guts on our part. Just grit.
“The important thing was we kept ourselves close in that game. We made a hell of a run to start the game. They threw haymaker after haymaker on us. But we just kept hanging in there and a lot of it, again, is due to the late night practice that we put in.”
“We made that sacrifice to get that practice in last night. And I think it paid off,” said Reyes.
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