THE Philippine men's basketball team faces its acid test in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games as it battles an opponent previously not in everybody's radar, but suddenly has become a major threat and a serious contender for the gold.
The Filipinos take on host Cambodia at 6 p.m. Thursday (Manila time) at the Morodok Techo National Stadium Elephant Hall 2 as they dispute the solo lead in Group A.
Gilas is coming off a 94-49 romp of Malaysia in the opener in a rousing start to its bid of regaining the gold in the biennial meet.
But the Cambodians served notice too, of their crack at a back-to-back gold in men's competition after drubbing Singapore, 85-60, on Wednesday to join the Filipinos on top of their group.
Cambodia will again parade the trio of Sayeed Pridgett, Darrin Dorsey, and Brando Peterson, who steered the country to its first 3x3 SEA Games gold medal by beating the Philippines in the finals.
Sponsored content:
But they also get added help from three other naturalized players in Oscar Lopes, Dwayne Morgan, and 6-foot-9 center Darius Henderson.
Lopes, who previously played for DePaul and Central Michigan University, topscored for the host with 19 points in its 25-point blowout of Singapore, while Henderson added 18 points and seven rebounds.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes expects the Filipinos to have their hands full against the resurgent host.
"They are a tough team. You saw the three guys in the 3x3. They have another three. They have like six naturalized players. They are going to be a handful," he said.
"We have to be able to adjust and pivot during the game. We have very little knowledge about their games as a team," Reyes added.
Sponsored content:
"We have some information as individuals, but as a team, very little. It's really a matter of how we can adapt. Our adaptability is going to be tested."
The national coach also expressed concern about the playing condition of the venue, which left a number of players getting injured on opening day, including Gilas forward Calvin Oftana.
The NLEX sophomore went down with a strained calf muscle in the first half of Gilas' game against Malaysia, prompting Reyes and his coaching staff to just rest Oftana for the entire second half.
"But that's the situation we are dealt with. We just have to embrace it and accept it so that we can make the best out of it," said Reyes.
Gilas caps its group stage assignment on Saturday against Singapore.(RG)
