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Despite record, Thailand wins at Under-19 World Cup

By Scott Mammoser

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - AUGUST 26: Players of Thailand celebrate after winning bronze medal during Women's Basketball 3X3 Bronze Medal Final between Chinese Taipei and Thailand on day eight of the Asian Games on August 26, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
JAKARTA, INDONESIA - AUGUST 26: Players of Thailand celebrate after winning bronze medal during Women's Basketball 3X3 Bronze Medal Final between Chinese Taipei and Thailand on day eight of the Asian Games on August 26, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images) /
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A victory about more than wins and losses

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Thai team didn’t win a game at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup, but there was no shortage of excitement for the host team at the Thai-Japan Youth Arena this week.

Players on the bench shrieking for every basket, uniformed school children in droves cheering, and fans drumming were all commonplace, even as the team was faced with a 20-or-30-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Ranked 35th in the world, the closest contest Thailand had was a 17-point loss to Latvia.

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One of its best efforts came in a classification game against Germany. Pitchayapa Phuekraksa drained three three-pointers in the game’s first four minutes, and the team was four-of-four from downtown to build a 12-5 lead. Thailand led 21-16 to end the first quarter, before Germany went on a 21-4 run to end the half and cruised to an 86-49 victory. The 5’6” Phuekraksa was the team’s leader throughout the tournament with a little more than 10 points per game.

“In the high school, I tried to play basketball,” Phuekraksa told High Post Hoops through a translator after the Germany game. “I played it from high school to now. The tournament is good because it’s the biggest tournament, and I’ve wanted to be in this tournament since I was young. I would like to be on the Thai national group and play in the Southeast Asian Games.”

Thai coach Federico Samson, a native of the Philippines, has been working with the Under-19 group for the past six months.

“It is really a great experience for the players from Thailand,” Samson told High Post Hoops. “We are very grateful for this opportunity from FIBA. It’s very positive for the future and a good tool for them to improve. We want to get them on the right road to improve for their career while they are very young. I told them that even though it’s the fourth quarter, we need to show them we can play and be tough. It’s a really good experience.”

Coach Samson added that the team’s obvious height difference with other teams created mismatches. Thailand had two centers standing 5’11”, as opposed to a team like the United States, which has four guards who were 5’11” and seven players over 6’.

Prior to this experience, Samson coached the men’s national teams of Vietnam, Maldives and Malaysia, and this was his first job with women.

“It’s different than coaching men,” Samson said, “the approach and the psychology. I am very happy, I just take them as my daughters. It’s my privilege and honor to serve this organization and to be a part of this team.”

Bangkok hosted the Under-19 World Cup previously in 2009. After this event, it should be bound for many more.

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