PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Gilas Pilipinas' bid for redemption will be severely tested when it battles a powerhouse Cambodian squad in the men's basketball competition of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 here.

Action kicks off at 6 p.m. with both teams marching with high-caliber rosters powered by naturalized players.

Fresh from a 94-49 domination of Malaysia, the Filipinos will be reinforced by three-time Philippine Basketball Association Best Import Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

Brownlee, who towed the Kings to six PBA titles since coming over in 2016, had a sizzling SEA Games debut with 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block for the Filipinos, who are looking to reclaim the glory it lost when they surrendered to Indonesia in the gold medal match of the previous SEA Games in Hanoi last year.

Aside from Brownlee, also making good impression were Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and college player Mike Phillips, who chipped in significant numbers — and a lot of hustle — during their easy win over the hapless Malaysians.

But beating the host country, which opened its campaign with an 85-60 win over Singapore, will not be easy.

The Cambodians will be powered by six naturalized players, including Darrin Dorsey, Brandon Peterson and Sayeed Pridgett, who beat the Filipinos in the gold medal match of the men's 3×3 event.

The 35-year-old Dorsey is a well-travelled guard who campaigned in Canada, Latin America and Europe while Peterson is a 6-foot-8 forward who played in various International Basketball Federation club tournaments in Europe, the Basketball Champions League and the West Asia League.

Pridgett, for his part, is the youngest naturalized player at 24 but he is already overflowing with experience after playing for different teams in Greece and the National Basketball Association G League.

Also in the roster are 6-foot-10 Darius Henderson, 6-foot-4 Oscar Lopes and 6-foot-8 Dwayne Morgan with Lebanese-Armenian Harry Savaya as head coach.