THE Philippine men's basketball team left for Cambodia Saturday night with the daunting task of regaining the gold in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Gilas Pilipinas brought the entire 14-man pool to Phnom Penh after concluding its two-week preparation on the morning of the same day at the Meralco gym.
Coach Chot Reyes is very much aware of the kind of competition awaiting the Filipinos in the biennial showcase, and challenging as it may, remains optimistic about the team's shot at redeeming itself following a disappointing silver medal finish in the Hanoi SEA Games a year ago.
"I think we really have a good chance. But we'll really know when we get there, because we all know the lineups already of the other teams, right?," said Reyes.
"The field is so much stronger than last year. While we do like our chances, and I think we have a better team now, not individual players but a better team, so is the opposition," he added. "Our competition has significantly improved well. So it remains to be seen how the other teams play."
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Comprising the pool are Christian Standhardinger, Calvin Oftana, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Chris Newsome, Aaron Black, Marcio Lassiter, CJ Perez, team captain Chris Ross, Arvin Tolentino, college players Jerome Lastimosa, Mason Amos, Michael and Ben Philips, along with naturalized player Justin Brownlee.
Jeremiah Gray, who was part of the pool that stayed for about a week at Gilas' training camp at Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, will skip the meet after being bothered by a hurting knee.
"He's not a hundred percent," said Reyes of the Fil-Am guard. "He's feeling something in his leg."
In as much as the coaching staff, also comprised of Tim Cone and Jong Uichico, would have wanted Gray to be with the team, Reyes said the 14 remaining players are all ready to go to battle.
"That's the team already. We just don't know who the final 12 is going to be," stressed the Gilas coach.
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Reyes said the team will name the 12 players and two alternates on Sunday night.
Gilas is bracketed in Group A with Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.
The Filipinos open their bid on Tuesday against the Malaysians, followed by the host country on Thursday, and the Singaporeans on Saturday.
Group B meanwhile, is composed of defending champion Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
The two teams in each group advance in the crossover semis, with the two semifinals winners disputing the gold in a winner-take-all. (RG)
