By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes aired his frustration over the playing conditions over at the Elephant Hall 2 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium where the 5-on-5 men’s basketball competitions in the Southeast Asian Games is being held.
Reyes raised concern over the sweltering heat in the venue and the taraflex flooring of the court which could be slippery especially when wet with the humidity and the sweat of the players – something the veteran coach deemed to be dangerous for play on.
In fact, the frustration with the venue conditions boiled from the calf strain injury Gilas forward Calvin Oftana sustained after slipping through a wet spot on the court.
“It’s really dangerous you saw it right in the middle of the plays, players are just going to be slipping. It’s really not an ideal circumstance,” Reyes told members of the Philippine press after the 94-49 win over Malaysia..
“We’re just telling the players that all of the team are undergoing the same conditions but honestly we shouldn’t even be playing on that sa totoo lang we shouldn’t even be playing on a surface like this,” he added.
Gilas’ game against Malaysia was scheduled at 1 p.m. (Cambodia time) making the players sweat all over the floor especially with the venue also lacking enough air conditioning. That left wet spots around the floor which could cause injuries to players.
“Unfortunately we had a casualty right away, Calvin Oftana strained a calf muscle and that’s why we didn’t play him anymore in the second half. That play I think he slipped parang wala sabi nya and then later on naramdaman na niya so I hope it’s nothing serious but calf strains are no joke,” said Reyes.
While asking his players to focus on the things that they can control, Reyes couldn’t help but call out the organizers for the venue conditions. On top of that, Gilas was even scheduled by the organizers to have their training in an outdoor court under the burning heat of the sun.
“ I don’t understand why they allowed this situation to happen. Kung sa Pilipinas, ito ni hindi tayo maglalaro sa ganto eh but that’s the situation that we are dealt with. Like we told the players, we just have to accept it and embrace it so we can make the best out of it,” said Reyes.
“(There’s) nothing we can do about it but I’m appealing to our authorities to do something about it. I hope so because we’re putting the career of our players at risk just to be very honest.”
