SEA GAMES | WHEN GILAS PILIPINAS FLIPPED THE SWITCH

I intentionally delayed writing my blog on the Gilas Pilipinas–Thailand game because I wanted to approach it with some objectivity. But when you watch the One Sports livestream, which drew nearly 300,000 viewers, and you see the sheer volume of questionable calls, it becomes difficult to write without emotion creeping in. I’ve always been upfront about the fact that I blog about teams I support, and depending on the result, I sometimes choose not to write at all.

Seeing Robert Bolick writhing in pain in the first half after being kicked by a Thai player made me realize that if I had written this immediately, it would have been an all-caps, expletive-filled post. And if my blog had a wider reach, it might have even sparked an international incident.

Anyway...

This is an altered screenshot of Thailand’s Chanatip Jakrawan appearing to nutmeg, or outright humiliate, Gilas Pilipinas’ Cedrick Manzano after throwing down a vicious two-handed dunk.

These are the kinds of jams you usually associate with the NBA, especially during the Shaquille O’Neal era. It’s the kind of play that instantly puts the defender on a poster and lives on in highlight reels.

The most famous nutmeg attempt in recent memory was Ja Morant’s near-conversion against Kevin Love. Even though it didn’t go in, that moment became immortalized through his Panini Luminance rookie card. Getting dunked on is bad enough. Getting caught in one of these moments is far worse.

Add to that a series of images showing Jakrawan mugging at Ray Parks and Emmanuel Ejesu taunting Filipino fans after a fast break, and you could feel how amped up Thailand was. They played with swagger, fed off the home crowd, and made it clear they wanted to prove something. With the arena packed and questionable hometown calls piling up, the Thai players fed on the energy and responded with confidence.

To be fair, Thailand came in with a solid game plan, both on and off the court. Calls aside, Gilas Pilipinas looked flat and visibly rattled. Thailand attacked them inside from the opening tip, exposing what would become Gilas’ biggest problem all game. Manzano was fresh off a grueling UAAP season, Abu Tratter no longer looked like the offensive force he once was, and the lack of depth left Norman Black leaning heavily on Justin Chua.

Gilas caught a break when Allen Liwag, who would have been a last-minute addition had Benilde reached the NCAA Finals, went down with an injury and was replaced by JP Erram. Erram had earlier been barred after Thai officials mistakenly thought he was Indian. Thrown back into the lineup, Erram was tasked with guarding the 6’8” Jakrawan, an unenviable assignment that met limited success. Meanwhile, the Philippines struggled to score in the first half, firing blanks as Thailand continued to dictate the tone of the game.

That said, this is another image, taken in the second half. It came right after Matthew Wright buried a top-of-the-key three to extend Gilas Pilipinas' lead to seven, at 62–55. The screenshot itself was generic as hell, but what it represented mattered more. Gilas was locked in. Suddenly, all the taunts and mugging from the first half felt hollow.

Most of those Thai screenshots floating around were taken early in the game. In the second half, Thailand still led for stretches, but this was where Gilas’ composure finally showed up.

The downside of throwing together a star-studded roster at the last minute is chemistry. Beyond familiarity, players are often unsure of their roles. Are they supposed to be the guy, or are they support?

By this point, though, it was clear. Robert Bolick was the primary weapon. The bigs were there for rim protection. And the best way to attack Thailand was to strike before their defense could get set.

This is where Jamie Malonzo became invaluable. On the main Gilas squad, Malonzo was rarely maximized at small forward. Like Calvin Oftana, he struggles in that role, largely because it’s usually Justin Brownlee’s territory. Plays are limited, opponents are bigger, and the margin for error is thin. Against Thailand, the matchup made more sense.

Jakrawan is bigger, yes, but not overwhelmingly so. That made Malonzo something of an anomaly, a big who could attack off the bounce and pressure the defense with speed. Watching him sprint down the floor and chip away at the lead helped ignite the Gilas surge.

Malonzo also emptied his bag, hitting daggers from every corner of the floor. If the SEA Games had a Finals MVP, he would be the runaway choice. With the way he played in this game, it’s hard not to think he belongs back in the PBA, with that cockamamie rule tossed straight into the proverbial trash. This is the role he was built for, and he proved it when it mattered most.

This team also carries the familiar powerhouse label, and with it, the expectation that they’ll respond when pushed into a corner. True to form, Gilas went berserk in the third quarter. Thailand clearly didn’t see it coming. As Gilas’ outside shots started to fall, the Thais grew tentative. Even their free throws went haywire as they succumbed to the pressure. Norman Black then went to a formula he knows well: the dribble-drive offense. You could see Bolick channeling Jayson Castro, Wright slipping back into a role he’s played before, and Thirdy Ravena doing his best Gabe Norwood impression.

When Sev Sarmenta floated the idea that Thailand still had a chance to claw back and retake the lead, his broadcast partner and former Gilas mainstay Larry Fonacier quickly cut in, saying it was easier said than done.

Fonacier would know. His clutch gene is well-documented in basketball circles.

In that moment, Thailand was exposed for what it truly was: an upstart squad daring to challenge the best team in the region. And once the powerhouse finally woke up, there was only one thing left for them to do—brace for impact, especially after all the antics that came before.

One advantage of having multiple star players is that they understand the importance of key moments. Even with a makeshift roster, this group knew what to do when the game tightened, much like they did in the Asian Games. Thirdy had his moments. Wright had his. The big men made their presence felt. In fact, Manzano’s performance here should do wonders for his 2027 draft stock. Yes, that fourth-quarter nutmeg was rough, but he held his own against a long-time Thai national team fixture.

JP Erram did what Erram usually does, but Justin Chua might have earned himself a PBA contract with this game alone. He looked a bit pudgy, sure, but he was effective, especially with Abu Tratter having an off night, possibly more concerned with not escalating things with the Thai players. Then there was Ray Parks’ one-man demolition job on Freddie Lish. Jakrawan and Emmanuel Ejesu had their fun early, but Lish never really got going. When Gilas started closing the gap, Parks stayed glued to him and shut the door.

Once roles became clear, Dalph Panopio came in with a simple mindset: spell Bolick and keep the offense flowing. He did exactly that as a combo guard threat. Suddenly, Thailand started missing free throws. Their outside shooting vanished. A double-digit lead turned into a deficit in crunch time.

The Thais still clawed back in the final seconds, and in some ways, you can see why Jakrawan’s postgame comments gained traction. He said it was better to win with fair officiating, a remark that didn’t sit well with Filipino fans. Still, if you look at the start of the second half, the whistles were noticeably fairer. Yes, hometown advantage crept back in late, but unlike Thailand, Gilas had the talent and composure to withstand it.

In the end, Bolick was flashing Stephen Curry’s night-night gesture, the crowd was chanting “uwian na,” and unlike the Thais, who celebrated too early, Gilas Pilipinas waited until it was done.

They survived the bizarre rules imposed by the Thai basketball commission, the hometown cooking, and the chaos of the night to capture the gold medal and reaffirm their place as Asia’s top basketball nation.