All teams are playing under the same conditions, though.
Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes had already slammed the playing conditions at Elephant Hall 2 of the Morodok Techo Stadium in Cambodia as being “really dangerous.”
It turns out, the subpar court is disadvantageous to a team like Gilas, which, according to Reyes, relies on speed and quickness to make up for its lack of size up front.
“We’re playing in the same conditions. But if they’re the bigger team, of course mas lamang ‘yung mas malaki because we rely on our quickness,” Reyes explained to reporters after Gilas suffered a near wire-to-wire loss against Cambodia on Thursday.
He may have point.
Cambodia’s big men trio of 6-foot-9 Darius Henderson, 6-foot-8 Dwayne Morgan, and 6-foot-8 Brandon Peterson combined for 24 rebounds and controlled the paint on both ends, scoring inside and contesting Gilas Pilipinas' inside incursions. Even 6-foot-4 guard Oscar Lopes stood tall, hauling down 10 boards and routinely shooting over his shorter Filipino counterparts.
Reyes, though, clarified that he isn’t looking for a scapegoat.
“I’m not here to make excuses. I am not making excuses,” Reyes emphasized. “But you all saw naman the conditions, you’re all here. Maybe people back home won’t see it as much, but you were here, you could see the conditions.”
And, again, Reyes makes a fair point.
But these are the cards Gilas is dealt with, and every other team is playing under those same conditions anyway. The onus to adjust, therefore, inevitably will fall on Reyes and the rest of the Gilas coaching staff, along with the players.
The good thing is that all is not lost, as a win on Saturday versus Singapore will push Gilas onto the knockout semis.