PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The playing surface of the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 remains a concern for Gilas Pilipinas following their loss to Cambodia in the Southeast Asian Games on Thursday.
Gilas players held their breath when Chris Newsome slipped awkwardly in the third quarter of Gilas’ 79-68 loss. He did get up on his own power, but that has not erased head coach Chot Reyes’ concern about the playing surface.
See Gilas coaches fume over Cambodia coach's late timeout, antics
Calvin Oftana has already been ruled out of the SEA Games after a Grade 2 calf strain following the team’s win over Malaysia in the first game.
Reyes said the playing surface has prevented the team from using their quickness and speed.
“Not only Newsome. Even Justin, everyone. There are little slips that you are not seeing. You see the falls, ‘yung mga bagsak. But ‘yung mga push-off na ganun, hindi niyo nakikita. We can’t get to our spots quicker. That’s why we couldn’t take advantage of our quickness too much,” said Reyes.
“The first thing we told them is we need to accept the conditions. But if somebody like Chris falls like that, hindi mo maiwasan ‘yun. Like I said, we are playing under the same conditions. But if they are the bigger team, of course, mas lamang ‘yung mas malaki because we rely on our quickness,” said Reyes.
But Reyes reiterated the team is not making excuses to not to play better.
“I’m not here to make excuses. Ilalagay nyo na naman, ipiprint niyo na naman ‘yung sinabi ko lang na ganun, sasabihin na naman making excuses. I’m not making excuses,” Reyes told reporters covering the SEA Games.
“But you saw the conditions. You are all here. People back home won’t see as much but you are all here and see the conditions. It’s really tough,” said Reyes.
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