Gilas Pilipinas falls to Indonesia for silver, misses gold after 3 decades

For the first time in more than three decades, the Philippines missed the gold in the Southeast Asian Games.

Gilas Pilipinas fell to Indonesia, 85-81, on Sunday in a heartbreaker in Hanoi, Vietnam to settle for the silver medal.

With less than four minutes left in the game, Indonesia had a comfortable eight-point lead, 78-70, before Gilas trimmed its deficit to just two, 81-79, after a Matthew Wright triple.

A Kiefer Ravena foul brought the Indonesians to the line with eight ticks left and they managed to increase their lead to four.

Thirdy tried to salvage the game with a layup at the 0:05 mark before a foul by Troy Rosario brought Terrell Bolden to the stripe and made two, sealing the deal for the Indonesians.

The Rajiko Toroman-coached Indonesians had a head start in the game, limiting the Philippines to just 14 points against their 18-point output in the first quarter. They had the lead at the half, 36-32.

Wright tallied 23 markers, four rebounds, and four assists, while June Mar Fajardo flirted with a double-double after a 20-point, nine-rebound performance. Thirdy Ravena made 17 points, four assists, and three rebounds in the losing effort.

The last time the Philippines did not win a gold medal in basketball was back in 1989 when Malaysia won the gold. Basketball was not held in the 2005 and 2009 edition of the biennial meet.

From winning four gold medals in the 2019 edition held in the Philippines, the country only had one gold medal for basketball in the Hanoi games. The national women's team, despite losing to Malaysia in their last game, won the gold in the regional tourney.

—MGP, GMA News