By Waylon Galvez
Games Friday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
12 noon – Myanmar vs Singapore (M)
2:15 p.m. – Malaysia vs Cambodia (M)
6 p.m. – Thailand vs Indonesia 
8:15 p.m. – Philippines vs Vietnam (M)
Gilas Pilipinas guns for its second straight win when it battles Vietnam in the elimination round of the basketball event in the 30th Southeast Asian Games Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Singapore’s Larry Lie, right, threads the needles against Marcio Lassiter, back, and June Mar Fajardo in the preliminary rounds of the men’s basketball in the 30th SEA Games at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Dec. 4, 2019. (REUTERS / Feline Lim)
Fresh from a 110-58 rout of Singapore last Wednesday to start its bid for an 18th gold medal in the biennial meet, the national team hopes to keep its fine form versus Vietnam.
The game between the Philippines and Vietnam – bracketed in Group A with Singapore and Myanmar – is set at 8:15 p.m.
Other men’s division games feature Myanmar versus Singapore at 12 noon and Malaysia opposite Cambodia – in Group B with Indonesia and Thailand – at 2:15 p.m.
In the lone women’s game, Indonesia faces Thailand at 6 p.m.
In its encounter against Singapore, the Philippines showed the type of defensive tenacity that Gilas coach Tim Cone wants from his players, and that’s the same thing he expects against Vietnam.
“They’ll be a lot better than Singapore,” said Cone. “We’re expecting a much tougher battle against Vietnam. We think theyre one of the teams to beat out here, so we got to be ready for them.”
Vietnam likewise opened its own campaign with a masterful 131-52 victory over Myanmar with Tam Dinh Thanh and An Du Minh combining for 46 points while forward Phu Vinh Nguyen Huynh had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Troy Rosario led the Nationals with 15 points against Singapore, while Vic Manuel – in his first stint with the national team – and Stanley Pringle contributed 14 points apiece. Matthew Wright added 13 points while June Mar Fajardo – the reigning five-time PBA Most Valuable Player – had 12 points.
Despite the 52-point win on Singapore, Cone said he doesn’t expect the team to be winning by 50-plus points every game. While he knows how deadly the team is on the offensive end, what he wants to see is for the players to work harder on the defensive side.
Against the Singaporeans, Gilas converted nearly 60 percent of its shots while holding the opposing team – with its defensive wall – to below 33 percent shooting from the field.
“I think this team will get better. We’ll become a better team. We’ll be more coordinated defensively,” said Cone. “We know we’re going to be a great offensive team, but the thing we demanded on them is play better on defense.”
“It’s a real honor to coach such a high powered (offensive) team. But we want to make sure that we respect the game, and play right way. No fooling around, we’re not trash talking our opponents.”
In the history of the regional meet, the Philippines ruled the SEA Games basketball event 17 out of 19 times. The only setback came in 1979 and 1989 both against the Malaysians.
The event was not included in 2005, when the country hosted the SEA Games but the local basketball federation was suspended at that time by FIBA, while in 2009, the lack of facility in Laos forced organizers to drop basketball in the calendar of events.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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