PHNOM PENH—Gilas Pilipinas proved to be a no-match against an all-naturalized Cambodian side on the hardcourt, dropping its first basketball game here on a day an ageless Eric Cray ruled the 400m hurdles for the sixth straight time Thursday to save the day for the Philippines in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
The Filipino team, which also has a naturalized player in Justin Brownlee, who suffered from cramps and dehydration and several half Filipino players, stumbled early at 15-29, and could not recover the rest of the way in a 79-68 Cambodian win that announced the hosts intention of winning it all, at all costs.
Despite the loss, the Philippines, now 1-1 after an opening victory over Malaysia, is still expected to secure a ticket to the crossover semifinals with a victory over Singapore on Saturday.
Meanwhile, bugged by a nagging sports hernia, Cray, 34, battled through the pain to clock 50.03 seconds at the Morodok Techno National Stadium, easily beating Natthapon Dansungnoen of Thailand (50.73) and Calvin Quek of Singapore (50.75).
Cray gave the Philippines its third gold in athletics after the record pole vault win of EJ Obiena and the breakthrough victory of long jumper Janry Ubas.
He delivered the country’s 27th gold here on a day Pinoy athletes, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, struggled anew against the gold-churning machines of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Starting the day in sixth place, the Pinoy contingent stayed there as of 8:30 p.m., with the Malaysian squad not far behind in seventh.
Vietnam showed the way with 57 gold medals, just one ahead of the Cambodian side that nearly swept all the gold medals staked for the day in kun khmer, a martial art indigenous to Cambodians, and three ahead of Thailand.
Indonesia moved up to fourth, followed by the resurgent Singaporean squad in fifth.
Unless the other members of the national squad who are still in contention step up, the Philippines faces the grim prospects of finishing sixth or, worse, seventh. The country finished seventh in the medal tally in 2013 when the games were held in Myanmar with a measly haul of 29 gold, 34 silver and 38 bronze medals.
Among those who could play savior for the country are the boxers, nine of whom are in the finals, led by Tokyo Olympians Nesty Petecio and Carlo Paalam. The others are Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, Paul Bascon, John Marvin, Irish Magno, Riza Pasuit and Petecio’s younger brother, Norlan.