2023 Southeast Asian Games Hit By Controversy Over Dodgy Basketball Flooring

Since its inception in 1959, the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games has been a great way for the countries within the region to test their prowess against one another in different kinds of sports.

The 2023 edition is well under way as host nation Cambodia opened the proceedings last Friday, May 5, but there has been one big glaring issue pertaining to the SEA Games' basketball tournament that has drawn the attention of the community.

Journalists on the scene called attention to the condition of the floor being used at the Morodok Techo Sports Complex in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as it appears that the organizers have been using for the five-on-five tournament has become misshapen.

In a follow-up tweet by another reporter at the venue, close-up photos of the flooring were provided and it certainly appears that the flooring used for the tournament is made out of either linoleum or vinyl.

For those not in the know, linoleum flooring is mainly used in homemaking.

While it is capable of being finished up to simulate the look of a wooden basketball court, it does not provide the same amount of grip and traction that a traditional wooden or even parquet floor does.

As for vinyl floorings, they can also be used for basketball as evidenced by most private high school courts since they do not see that much action compared to the ones being used in sporting events such as the SEA Games.

Moreover, linoleum floors are only water-resistant and not waterproof as evidenced by the misshapen form of the court seen in the first video.

Linoleum is ideally suited for multifunctional use in multi-purpose halls such as the ones found at the Morodok Techo Sports Complex's Elephant Hall 2, but the wear-and-tear of consistent action from a basketball tournament may have broken it down quicker than initially projected by the organizers.

Calvin Oftana, forward for the Philippines men's basketball team, sustained a calf injury after slipping on the dodgy flooring and head coach Chot Reyes was not happy about it.

"We have a casualty right away. Calvin Oftana strained a calf muscle that's why we didn't play him anymore in the second half. We are just telling them to focus on the things that they can control. But really, it's really dangerous. You saw it. The players are slipping and it's really not ideal circumstance," he said as quoted by Spin.ph.

"You shouldn't be playing here, [with all honesty]. We shouldn't be even playing on a surface like this. We can't understand why the organizer allowed this situation to happen."

Host nation Cambodia has yet to issue a statement regarding the flooring situation.