Chot Reyes glad as Gilas 'stuck together' after loss en route to SEAG gold

PHNOM PENH — Doubts were raised when the Philippine national men's basketball team fell to the Cambodian team in a rare upset in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

But at the end of the day, Gilas Pilipinas was able to get the job done in their rematch against Cambodia in the gold medal game.

And head coach Chot Reyes was glad to see his team stick together as the Filipinos reclaimed the gold after a second-place finish in the previous edition in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"I don't know if there's anything else to say," Reyes said after Gilas pulled off an 80-69 win in the gold medal round on Tuesday.

"I know a lot of people doubted this team the first time we lost. But I did not tell you the first words in the dugout. I said this was the loss we could afford. And I thought we needed that loss, actually," he added.

"We just kept our focus. Here we are. The players did a hell of a job. They stuck together," added Reyes.

Gilas opened its SEA Games' redemption campaign in a rousing fashion, carving out a lopsided win against Malaysia, 94-49, with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Justin Brownlee showing the way with 15 and 11 points apiece.

They, however, could not build on that momentum as they absorbed a stunning 79-68 loss to the hosts, which fielded a squad reinforced by multiple naturalized players.

That defeat made Gilas' run tougher in the crossover semifinals, as they needed to face the top seed of the other group. That turned out to be defending champion Indonesia, which gave the Philippines a hard fight before the Filipinos were able to arrange a rematch with Cambodia in the finals.

And they were able to turn the tables on Cambodia in their second meeting, especially thanks to a strong defensive effort.

"We kept this team of what, five, six imports to below 70 points. That was great defense, man. In the end, it was our defense that brought us to this gold medal."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News