Reyes: Gilas played the game ‘the right way’ in 107-point win over Myanmar

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Coach Chot Reyes felt Gilas Pilipinas did the right thing in not holding anything back for 40 minutes in its 147-40 decimation of Myanmar on Friday to start the 2017 Seaba Championship.

“There’s a very fine line in terms of respect for your opponents,” Reyes said.

The Philippines was merciless from the get-go as it imposed its will against the unranked Burmese.

Reyes said that had Gilas allowed Myanmar to score easy baskets just to make the score more respectable, that would be a real slap in the face to their opponents’ side.

“If we don’t defend them, let them score on lay-ups and if we don’t take shots or take haphazard shots or make haphazard plays, that’s a bigger sign of disrespect not only for the opponent but also for the game,” he said.

“We talk a lot about winning the right way, playing the game the right way, and you know I’m sure even for Myanmar, they wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Reyes should know as the Philippines had been in Myanmar’s position before.

The outspoken mentor related the way how powerhouse teams handled their games against Gilas, with the famed squads refusing to take their foot off the gas pedal despite enjoying insurmountable leads.

“We’ve been on the opposite ends of these scores as well. When we played Australia and France, they beat up on us. When we played the other World Cup teams, we’ve been on the other end of the stick so we know how it feels. Even when we were a lot smaller or less talented than the other teams, we never expected them to take it easy on us, because it’s basketball,” he said.

That’s why Reyes posed the game as a challenge to his players to prove that there wouldn’t be any letups in the course of the regional tilt regardless of the competition.

“It’s very rare that we come to a game where we are the favored team. So could we play with the same kind of intensity and effort even if you are the favored team? I think that was the question we posed before the players before the game,” he said. “And as far as we’re concerned, we just want to make sure that we are coming out and playing the game the right way.”