Two animated, outspoken coaches. Of course there's plenty of fire.
Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes was, once again, not afraid to mince words when talking about Cambodia's tactician Harry Savaya after the Philippines retook the Southeast Asian Games gold medal.
Savaya, a coach who hails from Lebanon, told the media after losing in the gold medal game that he had respect for the Gilas players for playing their hearts out. He did not have the same kind words for Reyes, saying Gilas "deserved better" than someone who would blame the the players.
But Reyes, who's equally outspoken, clapped back at Savaya.
"I think he got affected by the heat. I think he's still hallucinating up to now," Reyes told One News' The Big Story on Thursday night.
Naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee was visibly winded in Gilas Pilipinas' first game against Cambodia in the group stage. The Filipinos lost that game. Reyes explained to reporters back then that Brownlee felt suffocated because of the high humidity, saying "He feels smothered, hindi siya makahinga, so that’s a real problem."
The high temperature took a toll on everyone, with players left and right sweating and then slipping on the linoleum-covered floor. Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio earlier explained that the Cambodia Basketball Federation tried to alleviate the heat by placing 25 portable airconditioning units up in the stands. But it wasn't enough.
On Thursday night, Reyes reiterated the rough conditions inside Elephant Hall 2 of the Morodok Techo National Stadium.
"Ang kapal ng air. It was so heavy in the venue, so just the first two minutes, he was already completely out," Reyes recounted. "Maybe that's why he [Savaya] said that I blame the players, but I never blame the players, I just stated a fact."
"Everyone was talking about that, not only me. Every other coach and every other player."
Brownlee though did work his way through it, acclimatizing by requesting the hotel staff to turn off the airconditioning while he was working out at the gym. He got his bearings and his patented clutch threes helped Gilas Pilipinas beat 2021 SEA Games tormentors Indonesia, and eventually, Cambodia.
There's been plenty of tension between the two camps. Gilas Pilipinas players, including assistant coach Tim Cone, rushed to Savaya when he called a timeout 20 seconds left even when the game was already decided for Cambodia during their first meeting.
"That's not even coaching ethics, that's just ethics," Reyes said after that match.
Savaya was also seen visibly provoking the crowd and making a "night-night" gesture at the Filipinos.
After the gold medal match, Reyes was seen approaching Savaya with his hands up in victory, turning around at the last minute, before eventually shaking hands.
"Sarap sana mag-timeout nung huli, 'di ba?" he joked to reporters. "Kung bastos sila, tayo hindi. We always talk about playing the game the right way."