THE recent 32nd Southeast Asian Games saw Gilas Pilipinas deliver the gold medal in a tightly contested final against Cambodia, 80-69, completing its redemption after bowing to Indonesia last year in Hanoi.
It wasn’t always that way for the Philippine men’s basketball team that they had to earn every gold in the SEA Games, having won 18 titles before the debacle in Vietnam.
Remembering Gilas vs Thailand 2015 SEA Games semis
There was one other close call, however, for the Philippines eight years ago when they almost missed the championship game, one of the earliest signs that Southeast Asian neighbors are starting to close the gap on the perennial SEA Games champs.
On June 14, 2015, the Gilas cadets were able to hold on and averted an upset, beating Thailand, 80-75, in the semifinals held at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
Things looked gloomy for the young Gilas squad composed then of college players and coached by Tab Baldwin when they trailed, 33-43, at the half against a Thailand squad made up of professional players from the Asean Basketball League.
That was until Troy Rosario, Almond Vosotros, and Kiefer Ravena rescued Gilas in the clutch.
Rosario scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Vosotros got 18 points including six threes, his last one enabling the cadets to grab a 62-59 lead.
Thailand was still able to tie the match at 73, but Rosario gave Gilas back the lead. The Philippines finally sealed the win when Ravena drained a three with 16.2 seconds left for a 79-75 lead.
“I got nothing but praise on how they handled the pressure,” said Baldwin after the game. “They were down. For young kids, they could have easily have succumbed to that and play like young kids under pressure. But in this game, they played like veterans.”
Gilas eventually won the gold over Indonesia, 72-64, the following day.
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