GILAS Pilipinas will face Malaysia and Vietnam in the group stage of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
The defending champions battle Malaysia in its first game on December 14, and Vietnam on December 15, according to the schedule released by the Basketball Sport Association of Thailand.
Both matches are scheduled to tip off at 11:30 a.m. local time (12:30 p.m. Manila time).
READ: Black now focused on bringing everyone together in SEA Games buildup
The three teams are in Group A, with Group B comprising of host Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Myanmar.
Tournament format calls for the top seed in each group advancing to the semifinals outright. The second and third placers in each group then battles in a crossover qualification game for a place in the semifinals scheduled on December 17.
The semifinals will be on December 18, with the gold medal game set on December 19.
The Gilas Pilipinas team in the SEA Games will be a different squad from the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers with the team being coached by Norman Black.
Among the players that committed to Gilas Pilipinas in the SEA Games are Justin Brownlee, Ray Parks, Matthew Wright, Remy Martin, Thirdy Ravena, Dave Ildefonso, Jason Brickman, Ange Kouame, Mike Phillips, Kymani Ladi, Veejay Pre, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
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