Philippines bid to extend SEA Games basketball reign

Ag AFP

CLARK, Philippines: The Philippines men’s basketball team will shoot for their 13th consecutive title when they take on Thailand in the last full day of action at the Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday.

A home crowd at the MOA Arena will be expecting their team to add to the Philippines’ 145 gold medals — already their best ever — and improve on the team’s run of 17 wins in 19 basketball events since 1977.

The women’s team beat Thailand 91-71 earlier in their final round-robin match to claim the gold medal. However, the Philippines men’s volleyball team were outclassed by Indonesia, losing in the final in the capital 3-0. Tuesday is the last major day of competition at the SEA Games which has seen thousands of athletes from 11 countries compete in a record 56 sports in venues across Clark, Manila and Subic. After a rocky start with organisational gaffes, a presidential apology and deadly Typhoon Kammuri forcing cancellations, the biggest-ever SEA Games is close to the finish line, with just beach handball and the closing ceremony taking place on Wednesday.