The Asian Games might be in full swing but this story about the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is just too good to pass up.
In May of this year, Gilas Pilipinas was on a redemption mission to regain the gold medal in the SEA Games and the pressure was back-breaking.
The biggest threat to Gilas turned out to be host nation Cambodia who deployed not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six naturalized players. The Philippine squad only fielded a single reinforcement in Justin Brownlee.
To make matters worse, Cambodia’s hosting of the basketball tourney was subpar and borderline shady.
“We went to a country with no [basketball] facilities. They just slapped over a linoleum sheet over the top [of the floor]. It was really a hard court. To them it was no big deal,” Gilas coach Tim cone said on The Global Bounce podcast.
“Our practice facility was outside the gym. It was a cement court with wooden backboards and Cambodia was hot. Obviously, we didn’t use it. We went out and scouted and tried to find a facility of our own,” the winningest PBA tactician added.
The brouhaha wasn’t limited to the courts. Cambodia had another trick up its sleeve involving the team dugouts.
“The first two days, there was no air-conditioning in the locker rooms, which was one square room. And the first day we walked in, they had no chairs,” Cone disclosed.
“Cambodia, they had their airconditioned room every day,” he added.
These issues continued until the finals, when Gilas faced the hosts in an intense battle for the top prize.
“We found a storage room with an air-conditioning. We talked to the organizers and insisted on having that room. So, they didn’t give us that room for the championship round and we walked in there and again, no chairs,” Cone said.
Well, Gilas was left with no choice but to take action.
“We were walking around the court while the other game is ongoing, grabbing chairs. One by one, guys finding a chair, bringing it in. So, we finally got 16 chairs in the room,” Coach Tim recalled
“And then there was a big commotion outside. It was a military man who pulled all the liaison people together. We were told that he was really angry because we were walking around the coliseum, taking chairs,” he added.
According to Cone, the reason why the security personnel might’ve felt disrespected was the Cambodian prime minister’s supposed seat was perhaps snagged by one of the Gilas players and staff.
Can you believe that? Wild, isn’t it?
Well, in the end, Gilas took it all in stride. Brownlee went nuts and led the Philippines back to the SEA Games’ basketball throne.
(GM)