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SEA Games: Like their 'kuyas,' young Gilas team respected Myanmar

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/08/23/sea-games-gilas-2017-082217.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Ray Parks Jr. and Gilas Pilipinas took care of business against Myanmar on Tuesday to go 2-0 in the SEA Games. PSC/POC Pool</figcaption></figure></div>KUALA LUMPUR — One of the most memorable contests in the 2017 Southeast Asian Basketball Association Championship in Manila was the Philippines&#x27; <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/12/17/seaba-in-show-of-utter-dominance-gilas-beats-myanmar-by-107" target="_blank">147-40 demolition</a> of Myanmar in their first game of the tournament.In that game at Araneta Coliseum, a full-strength Gilas Pilipinas squad featuring naturalized center Andray Blatche raced out to a 17-0 lead and cruised comfortably to victory. Later, coach Chot Reyes maintained that the Filipinos showed their respect for Myanmar by not taking them lightly and still playing at a high level.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/12/17/seaba-gilas-played-the-right-way-against-myanmar-says-reyes">FULL STORY: Gilas played &#x27;the right way&#x27; against Myanmar, says Reyes</a></li></ul>Three months later, a younger Gilas team faced off against the same Myanmar squad, and gave the Burmese players the same measure of respect. Behind a breakout performance by Kobe Paras, the Philippines <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/22/17/sea-games-gilas-moves-to-2-0-with-demolition-of-myanmar" target="_blank">routed</a> Myanmar, 129-34, in their second game of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.&quot;(Our mindset was) just to respect the opponent, respect the game, work hard, do the right things, and get good habits,&quot; said Gilas coach Jong Uichico after the contest, which saw his team lead by as many as 97 points late in the fourth quarter.&quot;Maski mag-relax kami, mananalo kami. Pero hindi &#x27;yun ang tamang laro eh,&quot; he pointed out. &quot;It&#x27;s not going to be good for us in the following games.&quot;While the Filipinos were well aware that Myanmar was a massive underdog, they refused to play down to their opponent&#x27;s level.&quot;That is the great thing about this team,&quot; said Christian Standhardinger, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds in just under 16 minutes. &quot;We respect the game. We play hard every game, no matter if we&#x27;re up or down.&quot;&quot;We never see them (Myanmar) as mahina,&quot; added Kobe Paras, who thrilled the crowd with his highlight reel dunks en route to a 20-point performance.Paras said that they were simply following their coach&#x27;s instructions to &quot;play every game like it&#x27;s your last, and play as hard as you can.&quot; Moreover, they were determined to avert any kind of upset, even against a team that is not even ranked by FIBA.That Myanmar kept competing, despite being outgunned from the get-go, also drew Paras&#x27; admiration.&quot;I respect them a lot, because they&#x27;re not like the other teams who quit,&quot; said the 19-year-old high-flier. &quot;Earlier, they didn&#x27;t quit at all, until the last buzzer. Even in the last five seconds, one guy tried to iso me, so I had to defend.&quot;&quot;It is what it is,&quot; he added. &quot;It&#x27;s basketball. It&#x27;s a great sport.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank"> ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

While the Filipinos were aware that Myanmar was a massive underdog, they refused to play down to their opponent's level.

While the Filipinos were aware that Myanmar was a massive underdog, they refused to play down to their opponent's level.

SEA Games: Like their 'kuyas,' young Gilas team respected Myanmar

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SEA Games: Like their 'kuyas,' young Gilas team respected Myanmar

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 23, 2017 12:31 AM PHT

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SEA Games

Gilas Pilipinas

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