Gilas Pilipinas will look to seal its place in the semifinals when it plays Singapore in the men’s basketball tournament of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, Saturday at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Filipinos are also eyeing a bounce back win after suffering a 79-68 upset against Cambodia on Thursday night. Tip off is at 2:00 p.m., Manila time.

Gilas coach Chot Reyes acknowledged that his team needs to play better after shooting just 36% from the field against Cambodia, while struggling amidst the sweltering heat inside the venue. Naturalized player Justin Brownlee suffered from cramps and dehydration, and scored just 10 points.

“It was just a terrible first half for us,” said Reyes. “You saw what happened. Justin couldn’t move, severely dehydrated. The heat really got to him. But later on, he played better but then he was cramping up already because he lost too much fluids.

“It’s something that we can learn on and move on. We go to the next game and then, prepare for the knockout semifinals,” said Reyes.

Tension flared when Cambodia coach Marcus Savaya called a timeout with 20.7 seconds remaining in the contest and the result of the game already settled.

“I just want to be very polite. You all saw what happened. That’s just an unwritten rule, that’s just culture. And it’s not even coaching ethics, it’s just ethics. Just ethics, right? So, you know, if he wants to— if the other coach wants to make a fool of himself, then that’s on him. That’s not our problem,” said Reyes.

Singapore will look to play the spoilers’ role but it will be a difficult task, having lost to Cambodia, 85-60, and Malaysia, 93-70, in their previous contests.

Action also continues for Gilas Women when they face Vietnam at 11 a.m. (12 noon Manila time). Like Gilas, the women’s team is also looking to bounce back after losing big against Indonesia, 89-68, on Friday — a result that derailed their three-peat bid.