It doesn’t really bother him that much.
Host team Cambodia fielding in three naturalized players in the Southeast Asian Games 3x3 basketball tournament drew mixed reactions from fans and players alike.
Even Gilas Pilipinas icon Jimmy Alapag shared his two cents on the matter, saying the SEA Games committee is “setting a bad standard” by allowing it.
Meanwhile, Gilas coach Chot Reyes would rather focus on the things he can control.
“We can’t do anything about that except to focus and worry about things that are within our control and right now that one thing is Malaysia, our preparation for tomorrow’s ball game and then we can go forward and think about Cambodia,” Reyes told One Sports' Carlo Pamintuan.
After all, what Cambodia did was not against any rules.
“They’re taking advantage of the rules. They’re the hosts, that's the way it is,” Reyes said.
Sports analyst Quinito Henson, though, spoke in a combative tone when asked about it and even brought up the four naturalized cagers who played for the same country in the women's division.
"Noong natalo sila ng Gilas in the semifinals by one, they lost heart. In the battle for third they lost to Indonesia, and this is with four naturalized players! Losing to Indonesia is unforgivable," Henson told News5's Martie Bautista.
"But since these players aren't playing for their country, they're playing for themselves, they're playing for pay. They absolutely [have] no affinity to the country," the veteran sports commentator added.
There’s another thing that worries Reyes and the Filipino dribblers more, though.
“We’re all really concerned about the floor. As you can see it’s just like flooring that's been put over wooden surface and there are a lot of wrinkles. That’s why we didn't do any up and downs. We just did shooting today,” he said.
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, One Sports, and Martie Bautista, News5)
(GM)