Chot Reyes expects Indonesia to be even tougher this year

April 22 ------ Gilas Pilipinas are looking to make amends at this year's Southeast Asian Games. But the road to redemption, already hampered by a lack of players and practice time, looks set to be paved with more hardship following reports that defending champions Indonesia are way ahead in terms of preparation -- and might even be stronger this year. This sentiment has grown with Gilas coach Chot Reyes revealing he is even more wary of the Merah-Putih at next month's SEA Games in Phnom Penh compared to last year's edition in Hanoi, where Indonesia shocked Philippines for the men's 5x5 gold medal.

"I heard they're in camp right now," Reyes said after Gilas practice. "Yeah, they're in their second week already of their camp in Australia. They have Lester Prosper (and) they have another guy Anthony Bean. Aside from (Marques) Bolden -- I'm not going to be surprised if Bolden is still there -- so we have to be ready. I think Indonesia this year will be even tougher than they were last year. And I know it's the same thing with Vietnam and Thailand. We have to be really playing at a high level as a team."

Reyes stressed the need for Gilas to beef up their frontline rotation, which already took a hit with the injury to June Mar Fajardo. "That's the most important thing right now -- to be able to have the size to match Indonesia," he added. "Not only Indonesia, but the other teams as well -- Vietnam, Thailand -- those are important. As you know, without June Mar and with (the availability of) Japeth (Aguilar) being questionable because he's not yet fully 100%, we needed to get some size right now. That's the reason why we got BGR (Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser) and Mike Phillips."

Aside from Phillips and Rosser, the other big men present at Monday's practice were 18-year-old Mason Amos and Mike Phillips' brother Ben. Others who attended were Meralco Bolts' Chris Newsome and Aaron Black, NorthPort Batang Pier's Arvin Tolentino, and San Miguel Beermen's Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and CJ Perez. Sean Anthony of the NLEX Road Warriors also showed up to provide an extra body.

Several players from Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Giga, including naturalized player Justin Brownlee, are still locked in battle in the PBA Governors' Cup Finals. The pool took another hit after RR Pogoy dropped out due to a fractured finger, but Reyes is not too concerned as he stated: "Well, that's the reason why we have a large pool, right? "I know a lot of people are complaining, why just not name the team right away? Why have a pool? Well, that's the reason. Because, in my experience, there's always going to be situations like this, where you're going to get injuries, somebody will get into an accident, somebody will be suddenly unavailable. So it's always good to have a bigger number of players to choose from. And that's what I explained to the guys as well. They have to understand when they come here, that they're part of a pool. Who'll make the final 12 is going to depend on who's practicing the best, and then we make that decision."

Reyes added the pool will once again be cramming to assimilate new members of the pool with what they want to do. "We really have to get a lot more practice sessions together, just for everyone to be on the same page," he said. "Not only to understand what we want to do, but also to understand each other. The benefit of the guys playing in the finals is they already know each other, they've played together in the windows in the past. And they're in game shape because they're coming off the finals. But now they have to assimilate with these guys, who they're all going to be playing with -- Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Marcio Lassiter, and some of the other guys, Aaron Black, Chris Ross. They're going to be playing with those guys for the first time, so that takes a lot of getting to know."

Newsome, who is aiming for his first SEA Games gold medal in 5x5, admitted it's tough when half the pool is playing in the finals, but the rest of them are focused on the task at hand. "We are kind of in an interesting position right now because a lot of our guys are in the finals and of course we want to wish them the best of luck because they are doing what they need to do for their respective programs," said Newsome. "We respect that and honor that, and so it is on the rest of us to hold it down and continue with our preparation for the SEA Games because this is a redemption year for us. We lost the gold last year and now that is our focus is to bring the gold back to the Philippines and to be the best in Southeast Asia once again. That was one of the first things that coach was talking about and I think that is one of the things that motivated us in today's practice and will continue to motivate us as we move forward."

Newsome won the gold medal in 3x3 in 201 and is extra motivated to also win one in 5x5, although he acknowledges the challenge and pressure that is in front of them. "To be able to say I got that gold medal as well in my first stint (in 5x5), that would also be an amazing feat," added Newsome. "But of course it is not all about me, it is about the team and all the other countries in the region are getting stronger as well. They understand what is at stake and they are all leveling up their play and you can see that as what happened last year. We definitely can't take it for granted, we can't go into the SEA Games lightly and we have to make sure we put our best foot forward."

While Reyes recognizes the importance of regaining the SEA Games gold medal, he also has his eye on the bigger prize. "To be very honest, for me, my focus really is the (FIBA) World Cup," said the Gilas coach. "That's really the big tournament that we need to be prepared for. But then, the SEA Games is a great opportunity for us to continue improving the World Cup team. Unfortunately, we know that we're not going to have the whole team available. So we are kind of in a situation where we are preparing for the World Cup, while at the same time, figuring out a way to also, of course, win the gold medal."

Source: espn.ph