Well-rested Gilas guns for finals spot

BANGKOK, Thailand — Defending champion Gilas Pilipinas will have the advantage of rest and preparation time when it steps into the semifinals of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s 5-on-5 basketball today at the Nimibutr Stadium.

Head coach Norman Black and his men spent Wednesday night anticipating which team, between Vietnam and Indonesia, they will face in the penultimate stage of the competition, scheduled at 3 p.m. (Manila time).

Vietnam, which Gilas defeated in pool play, and Indonesia were still playing as of press time in their quarterfinal match that started at 8 p.m. (Manila time).

Whoever survives will have less than 24 hours of recovery before facing the well-rested Filipinos.

“I’m not sure who we play (in the semis). I’ll just have to wait and find out,” Black said.

But the mentor is quick to downplay any advantage his team has, as Gilas will also have little time to adjust once its semis opponent is decided.

“Each game is going to be a challenge no matter who the opposition is,” he said.

Gilas swept Group A after routing Malaysia, 83-58, and scoring a come-from-behind, 78-67 victory over the Vietnamese.

Robert Bolick admitted that their lack of preparation is hurting their chances to secure the country’s 20th gold medal in men’s basketball.

“We still lack intensity because we didn’t get enough practice. We hardly know each other and we didn’t even play in tune-up matches,” Bolick said.

“But it’s not an excuse. We’re already here. All of the players here are good. We’ll go to whoever has the hot hands. We will support him.”

In the other semis pairing, host Thailand will battle the quarters survivor between Singapore and Malaysia, which were still playing as of press time.

Meanwhile, Gilas Women already figured out its semifinal foe in Indonesia, which battered Singapore, 77-37, in the quarters on Wednesday.

Gilas and Indonesia will meet at 12:30 p.m. (Manila time).

“We are expecting a gold medal-like match because they are the defending champions. They also have experience playing FIBA Division A games,” head coach Patrick Aquino said of Indonesia, which beat Gilas for the gold at Cambodia in 2023.

Aquino, however, got a big boost with the arrival of National University stars Karl Ann Pingol and Angel Surada, who are fresh from their University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 title series against University of Santo Tomas.