By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno | Philippine News Agency
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio issued an apology to Gilas Pilipinas fans for what has become an iffy campaign for the national basketball teams in the recently concluded Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi.
The men’s team’s shock loss to Indonesia in the virtual men’s 5×5 basketball gold medal match on Sunday that dropped the squad to the silver for the first time since 1989 became the main highlight of the now infamous Gilas stint.
“We at the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas share the disappointment of our Filipino basketball fans and take full responsibility for the results of our 31st Southeast Asian Games campaign. We apologize we fell short and were not able to give our teams better support that they needed to retain the gold,” Panlilio said in a statement on Wednesday, the first time he spoke up on post-SEA Games.
Only the women’s team remains the defending champion in 5×5 play entering next year’s SEA Games in Phnom Penh, but they did not quite have a happily-ever-after ending after falling short against Malaysia in their final game also on Sunday.
Gilas also failed to defend their championships in 3×3 with the men’s team, consisting of the Limitless squad that won the first two conferences of the PBA 3×3, settling for the bronze and the women’s team completely missing out on the podium.
While Gilas men’s 5×5 coach Chot Reyes rued after the team’s loss to Indonesia, Panlilio said the SBP is taking responsibility for the blown campaign without any excuse.
“There are no excuses and we’ve learned valuable lessons,” he added.
“We will bounce back and reclaim our spot to stay ahead,” he then vowed. – gb
