HANOI. – Gilas Pilipinas fell in a stunning upset to Indonesia on Sunday, suffering an 81-85 defeat and settled for the silver in the most cherished discipline back home as the curtains fell on the 31st Southeast Asian Games here.
Playing at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium for the sixth time, the Filipinos failed to neutralize Indonesia’s three-point shooting and finished with a 5-1 card. Indonesia won the gold by going unscathed in six games.
The Indons banked on the collective efforts of naturalized player Marques Bolden, Derrick Michael Xzavierro, and Damar Abraham Gratiwa to end the Philippines’ 33-year reign in men’s basketball.
The loss was the third time the Philippines failed in its quest for the cage gold, the first in 1979 and again in 1989, both in Malaysia.
“Our players played their best,” coach Chot Reyes said after emerging from the dugout.
“Indonesia came up with a very good game plan. They shot well from the three-point line. In the end, we just couldn’t match it.
“Obviously that’s on me. I take full accountability and responsibility for the result. Like I said, they tried their best and that’s sports. That’s life. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we played,” he added.
Bolden, formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers who played only his second game here, scored on a putback to give Indonesia an 81-76 lead with 40.8 seconds left.
Matthew Wright made a triple to cut the deficit to three. But after Gilas forced a turnover, Wright missed a contested shot, allowing Grahita to complete the victory by sinking two free throws with 6.1 seconds left.
Partly thanks to Vietnam, the Gilas Pilipinas women’s squad still emerged the winner and contributed to the country’s gold medal hunt here despite dropping a 93-96 decision to Malaysia earlier.
The host team stunned the Malaysians 69-65 last Saturday, a win that assured the Filipina cagers the gold, which counted as the 48th for the national delegation.
With the loss, the Gilas women finished with a 4-1 card. Even if the Indonesian team beats Singapore in the other game Sunday to match the Filipinas’ card, Gilas women will still win the gold due to the winner-over-the-other rule, having beaten the Indons 93-77 Monday last week.
The team successfully retained the crown it won three years ago in the country, ending the stranglehold of Thailand in the event, although not the way everybody in the Philippine delegation expected.
Malaysia closed the game with seven straight points capped by a three-pointer by Chong Yin Yin with 17.2 second left.
Gilas tried but failed to come up with a decent shot in its last possession, to the consternation of the small Pinoy gallery in the stands.
