Matthew Wright couldn’t wait to reunite with familiar faces as he got called up by Gilas Pilipinas for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Phoenix Super LPG star has been included by head coach Chot Reyes in the 16-man pool for the May 12-23 meet, marking his return to the national team program since the last edition of the biennial meet in 2019.
“I’m just excited for SEA Games,” he said after the Fuel Masters’ PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal exit in the hands of Magnolia, “finally be with the guys, be back reunited with Coach Chot, June Mar [Fajardo], all those guys.”
Wright was a mainstay of the program during Reyes’ time at the helm from 2016-18, a stint highlighted by a dominant gold medal finish in the 2017 SEABA Championships held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Fil-Canadian guard, though, was suspended for a game due to his involvement in the infamous Gilas-Australia brawl in July of 2018. But he was quickly brought back into the team, then being handled by Yeng Guiao.
He was highly expected to be part of the final 12-man lineup for the FIBA World Cup, but an ankle issue unfortunately kept him out.
But like what Guiao promised, those who weren’t included in the squad that played in China will be given priority for the 30th SEA Games in Manila. And Wright saw himself in the PBA-backed unit mentored by Tim Cone.
That star-studded squad ran roughshod all over the competition, on the way to giving the Philippines its 13th straight title, and 18th overall.
A former member of the RP-Youth team, the 31-year-old definitely wants the country to maintain its position as kings of the ASEAN region.
“We have to sustain our dominance. We’re the Team USA of the SEA Games,” offered Wright, whose Gilas won by an average margin of 34.8 points in the last SEAG, including a 69-point beatdown of Myanmar.
Still, he remains cautious of the challenge that lies ahead, warning that other nations are stepping their game up in a bid to end the Filipinos’ reign.
“Other teams are getting better — Thailand is getting better, Vietnam’s getting better, Indonesia’s getting better,” offered Wright, enumerating exactly the order of top finishers in the previous competitions.
“You can’t give them anything — any confidence. Even if they lose by 15 points, to them that’s like a moral victory, right? You gotta destroy these teams so that they’d know that there’s really no chance against the Philippines.
“But that’s hard to do because every team’s getting better,” he furthered. “But, that’s a challenge we have to accept.”
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