Gilas to move forward from Cambodia game despite concerns about dehydration, flooring

PHNOM PENH — Philippine national men's basketball head coach Chot Reyes says the team has to shift their focus to their next games as Gilas Pilipinas continues its campaign in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.

On Thursday, the Philippines lost to home team Cambodia, 79-68, in a rare SEA Games defeat for the country.

"I'm not here to make excuses. I am not making excuses. You all saw the conditions.  People back home won't see as much, but you're here, you saw the conditions," he told the members of the media covering the game.

"This is something we can learn from. We move on to the next game, then we prepare for the knockout semifinals."

Despite the loss, Gilas can still advance from the group stage with a win over Singapore (0-2). The Philippines is looking to reclaim the gold medal after a silver medal finish in the previous edition of the games.

But they will need to get used to the playing conditions, which includes the heat as Reyes said Gilas naturalized player Justin Brownlee struggled with dehydration.

The Barangay Ginebra star managed to only churn out 10 points in 23 minutes of play alongside five rebounds and one block in the game.

"Well I thought it was just a terrible first half for us because you saw what happened. Brownlee couldn't move, [he was] really dehydrated. The heat really got to him," Reyes said.

"But later on, medyo bumuti nang konti but then he was cramping already because he had lost a lot of fluid."

("But later on, it got a little better but then he was cramping already because he had lost a lot of fluid.")

Reyes also pointed out problems with the flooring on the court. The coach said that players, including Brownlee and Chris Newsome, struggled with the surface, which is not standard for the sport.

"Not only Newsome, even Justin, everyone. Little slips you were not seeing. You see the falls, but the pushoffs di niyo nakikita. We can't get to our spots quicker," he added.

("Not only Newsome, even Justin, everyone. Little slips you were not seeing. You see the falls, but the pushoffs you don't see. We can't get to our spots quicker.")

"We couldn't take advantage of our quickness too much."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News