BANGKOK, Thailand — Gilas Pilipinas begins its quest to defend its men’s 5-on-5 basketball crown and redeem the country’s lost pride from a humiliating 3x3 hoops debacle in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games today at Nimibutr Stadium here.

Poy Erram has been tagged as a last-minute replacement for Gilas ahead of its opening match against Malaysia at 12:30 p.m. (Manila time).

The TNT big man replaced College of Saint Benilde star Allen Liwag in the 12-man roster of head coach Norman Black. Liwag has been bothered by a shoulder injury.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy confirmed that Erram was due to arrive in this Thai capital on Saturday.

“Poy brings a lot of veteran presence to our team, and I think he will help us in terms of size that we lost due to the eligibility rules,” Black said.

“So, Poy will be coming in to help us, particularly on the defensive end.”

Black said Erram was an active part of the Gilas preparation for the biennial meet, which saw the team scramble following multiple changes due to the decision to impose a ban on naturalized players and those, who failed to secure a passport before the age of 16.

Aside from Erram, Gilas tapped four other Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players in Robert Bolick of NLEX, Von Pessumal of Titan Ultra and the Blackwater tandem of rookie Dalph Panopio and Abu Tratter.

Ray Parks Jr. took a break from his B.League duties with Osaka Evessa to join Gilas, along with free agents Jamie Malonzo, Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena and Justin Chua, plus Adamson center Cedrick Manzano and University of the Philippines redshirt Veejay Pre.

Pressure is high on Filipino cagers as well as the Gilas women’s 5-on-5 squad following their 3x3 counterparts’ disastrous campaign.

Both 3x3 teams missed the podium.

Gilas arrived two days earlier in a really interesting manner as its bus bogged down in the middle of the highway and had to wait 30 minutes for a replacement to arrive.

But all’s been good for the team as it gears up for a matchup with Malaysia in Group A, which also has Vietnam.

Group B is composed of host Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Myanmar.

The group winners progress to the semis, while the second and third placers need to go through a qualification round.