Gilas Pilipinas opened its 31st Southeast Asian Games title defense on a shaky note, barely escaping a vastly-improved Thailand side 76-73 in Hanoi.
Thailand -- the 2019 silver medalists -- had a chance to send the game into overtime after Kiefer Ravena split his free throws, but Nakorn Jaisanuk missed an open triple at the buzzer.
The game had several ebbs and flows, with Thailand taking an early ten-point lead and Gilas going up by 12 in the second half.
Gilas appeared to finally take control of the game in the third quarter, and in the past their opponents would have folded after falling behind by 12.
But Thailand's newest players have added a different dimension and attitude to their team.
Here are five quick thoughts on the game:
1. Thailand is here to win
Thailand's gold medal in the 3x3 competition was no fluke. The same players who outplayed the Philippine 3x3 team in the semifinals are also in their 5x5 team, and they're pretty good.
Thai-Americans Antonio Price, Moses Morgan and Frederick Lish combined for 43 of Thailand's 73 points. They're all athletic and add a bit of flair and individuality to the offense, something not normally seen among Gilas opponents at this level.
G-League veteran Price, in particular, used his speed to cut up the Gilas defense as he repeatedly blew past his defender and finishes strong at the rim. We have to get used to this level of competition at the SEA Games.
2. Thank you, Kraken
Gilas would have lost this game without June Mar Fajardo's dominance. After a shaky start where he missed a couple of bunnies, Fajardo went on to hit 12 of his next 13 shots to finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Thailand did not have anyone who could guard him as he was too big and too quick for any of the Thais' big men. JMF even knocked down a couple of midrange jumpers for good measure.
For someone who hasn't publicly played in nearly two months, Fajardo looked spry and in game shape. Gilas will need him to continue to play like he's a six-time PBA MVP against the likes of Indonesia which has a tall naturalized player in former Duke Blue Devil Marques Bolden.
3. Thailand's perimeter defense limited Gilas' outside shooting
The Thai guards pressured their counterparts from the backcourt and aggressively defended off the ball to prevent clear looks from the beyond the arc. Gilas only attempted 16 triples, making just five.
Matthew Wright and RR Pogoy, Gilas' two best shooters, combined to hit just 4-of-16, although Wright did have 6 assists. In contrast, Thailand did a better job moving the ball in the perimeter and finding the open man.
Oftentimes a Gilas defender was forced to chase after a wide-open shooter. Thailand took 28 shots from the outside, but luckily for Gilas, only 8 went in.
Gilas truly dodged a bullet late, as Jainasuk actually buried two big triples in the last two minutes to keep the game close before he narrowly missed the game-tying attempt at the buzzer.
4. PBA habits are hard to break
Mo Tautuaa plays tough on both ends of the court in the PBA. Unfortunately his aggressiveness isn't appreciated by international referees.
Twice Tautuaa got called for a moving screen while simply doing stuff that he normally does back home. He'll need to adjust in the following games.
Also, other players were looking for a whistle after driving to the hoop, and they're finding out the hard way that they won't get those calls in Hanoi. Gilas did take more free throws, 19-17, but made only 11, including three misses in the last 20 seconds by the Ravena brothers.
5. The road to the gold doesn't get easier
Only seven teams are entered in men's 5x5 and the tournament is a one-round robin affair with the top team automatically winning the gold. So every win counts.
Gilas will take on lightweight Cambodia on Tuesday and Singapore on Wednesday before taking on the three other teams with medal aspirations in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Hosts Vietnam have hired American Kevin Yurkus as coach, and they have several foreign-born players on their roster, including Harvard's Christian Juzang. The core of Malaysia's national are fresh off a guest stint in the recent Filbasket tournament where they reached the quarterfinals with a 6-5 record.
And as mentioned earlier, Indonesia now have 6-10 former G-League player Marques Bolden as a naturalized player.