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| Gilas Pilipinas Men set their personal pride aside to become one solid unit all SEA Games long. Jade Moya |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY—For the first time ever, a group represented by PBA stars played for the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games.
But one major concern about putting an all-pro lineup especially coming from leagues of high caliber like the PBA is about the team's cohesion especially that ego could step in the way.
However, Coach Tim Cone could not help but be marveled by Gilas Pilipinas Men's near-flawless chemistry all SEA Games long at the Mall of Asia Arena.
"The chemistry of this group is very strong. They really looked for each other. They cared for each other," Cone said.
He then added, "What I like most about this group is that no one tried to be the star. No one tried to outshine their teammates. Everyone really worked together."
To prove what Cone said, different players topped in scoring for Gilas Men in the first four games of their campaign.
Troy Rosario paced them against Singapore with 15 points, Junemar Fajardo had a game-high 23 against Vietnam, Matt Wright dropped 29 against Myanmar, Chris Standhardinger put up 14 against Indonesia in the semifinals.
Only Fajardo got a chance to repeat as top scorer as he put up 17 for Gilas Men against Thailand in the final on Tuesday night that they won.
[Related Story: Gilas Men stretch PH's SEA Games men's 5x5 basketball dominance with rout of Thailand for gold]
On top of that, Gilas Men dished out at least 29 assists in all of their games. Even in their most turnover prone game against Vietnam where they committed 18 errors, Gilas Men still gave out 30 dimes.
"The bottom line is these guy deserve all the credit," Cone added.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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