Gilas Pilipinas’ decades-long reign as kings of the Southeast Asian Games has come to a screeching halt.
The Philippines fell short of capturing a 14th straight SEA Games gold after absorbing a shocking 81-85 loss to vastly improved Indonesia at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium in Hanoi on Sunday, May 22.
Indonesia finished the round-robin tournament with a perfect 6-0 as the Philippines fell to 5-1 to settle for a men’s basketball silver for the first time since 1989.
The presence of former NBA player Marques Bolden, Brandon Jawato, and Derrick Michael Xzavierro proved to be the difference as Indonesia made it rain from deep on the way to its first-ever men’s basketball gold.
Matthew Wright and June Mar Fajardo carried the scoring load for Gilas Pilipinas with 23 and 20 points, respectively, but the Filipinos shot themselves in the foot with their inconsistent free throw shooting.
The Philippines missed one-third of its foul shots, going 24-of-32 at the line and also struggled from long range by making just 3 of its 16 three-point attempts.
Wright drained a triple with 40 ticks left to pull Gilas Pilipinas within a single possession, 79-81, but missed on his game-tying floater as Indonesia escaped behind Bolden and Abraham Grahita.
