Indonesia claims gold medal title from the Philippines.
Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball reign ends at Hanoi in the Southeast Asian Games.
What could have been the 14th straight gold medal for the men’s squad turned into a silver as they suffered a heartbreaking loss against Indonesia, 81-85, before a stunned Thanh Tri Gymnasium crowd on Sunday, May 22.
It was the Indonesian squad who completed a six-game sweep against all teams to claim their first ever gold medal in the biannual meet. For 31 years, Filipinos have reigned supreme since 1989. It was the Malaysians who were the last nation to rule the biennial meet before the Filipinos’ streak. An all-amateur PH team handled by Derrick Pumaren settled for silver in that meet.
Under the vision of head coach Chot Reyes, the 12-man lineup that failed to capture the gold are June Mar Fajardo, Mo Tautuaa, Matthew Wright, Troy Rosario, Roger Pogoy, Kib Montalbo, Isaac Go and Kevin Alas. Together with the Ravena brothers, Kiefer and Thirdy as well as two cadets in Will Navarro and LeBron Lopez.
In a very gallant stand from their head coach, Reyes took full responsibility for the disappointing run in Hanoi. “Obviously that’s on me. I take full accountability and responsibility for the result,” Reyes told reporters in Hanoi.
“Indonesia came up with a very good game plan. They shot well from the three-point line. In the end, we just couldn’t match it.”
Matthew Wright and June Mar Fajardo carried the scoring load for Gilas Pilipinas with 23 and 20 points, respectively, but the inconsistent free throw shooting of the squad proved to be their Achilles heel which led them to the loss.
Gilas missed one-third of its foul shots, 24-of-32 at the line, and also struggled from long range by making just 3 of its 16 three-point attempts.
Thirdy Ravena also chipped in 17-points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in the loss while his brother Kiefer saw his 5-year gold medal streak in SEA Games end.
The Indonesians banked on a collective effort led by ex-NBA and naturalized player Marques Bolden with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. While Brandon Jawato, and Derrick Michael Xzavierro proved to be the difference as Indonesia made it rain from deep on the way to its first-ever men’s basketball gold.
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