The most experienced player on Hong Kong, China’s FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers roster, Duncan Reid has some words of wisdom for his teammates who will be playing in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Duncan Reid, the veteran center for Hong Kong, China, knows a thing or two about the Philippine basketball scene.
Reid, 35, was on the Bay Area Dragons team that finished second to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Season 48 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, with Game 7 of the finals played before a record crowd at the Philippine Arena.
The Dragons have since disbanded, but another Hong Kong-based squad, Hong Kong Eastern, will be playing in the coming Commissioner’s Cup. Three of Reid’s teammates on the Hong Kong team that lost to Gilas Pilipinas Sunday — Yuet Yeung Pok, Ka Hin Marco Leung, and Yiu Pong Yip — are on the Hong Kong Eastern team that will be making its PBA debut on Wednesday against the Phoenix Fuel Masters at the Philsports Arena.
Having gone the distance in his first PBA stint last season, Reid is in a position to tell his younger teammates what to expect from the PBA brand of play.
“First of all, enjoy it,” Reid said minutes after Hong Kong’s 39-point loss to Gilas Pilipinas. “The PBA has some of the best fans in Asia. I still have people coming up to me asking about Bay Area. And that was a really special time for me.
“So I tell those guys, enjoy it. Maybe they have multiple, hopefully multiple years here. But to make the most of it, enjoy every single game.”
Reid also advised his teammates to adjust right away to the style of play here, which he said is unique.
“The PBA has a very specific style,” he noted. “I played in China for two years. And the PBA style is very different to the Chinese style. So there’s a lot of stuff that you can learn and develop. But also be careful. You know, the Filipino PBA guards are very skilled. And there’s a certain type of offense that they push.
“I won’t get into too much details. But I told them to kind of be ready for that. And be ready for the physicality. But those guys are all experienced guys. And I think they’re going to do really well. You know, I’m going to be watching those games. And hoping that they really represent Hong Kong well.”
Interestingly, Duncan Reid’s first experience playing in Manila was 11 years ago in the very same venue where Gilas clobbered Hong Kong. It was at another FIBA Asia event, the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, with Gilas facing Hong Kong in the second round.
Reid the starting center of that Hong Kong team, and the Gilas team they faced had Marcus Douthit, Jimmy Alapag, Marc Pingris, Larry Fonacier, and Ranide De Ocampo, among others.
Gilas prevailed, 67-55, but not before going through some rough patches against an inspired Hong Kong side that was playing with nothing to lose.
“I think it’s very interesting,” Reid recalled. “That was 11 years ago. I think back then we were a little bit more lucky. Gilas, I think, had one of the worst shooting nights they had of their whole FIBA Asia. And also, I think Marcus Douthit was dealing with an injury.
“So we were a little bit more able to get the ball inside more and score. And defensively, we got lucky. There were a couple of times that I think Larry and a couple of guys were open and they just missed shots.”
Reid’s memory of the game is largely spot-on. Gilas shot only 38% from the field in that game, including 5-of-24 from three-point distance. Hong Kong led at halftime by five and were down by just three after the third quarter before Gilas turned on the jets in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Reid finished the game with 12 points and 19 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. That result now seems a world away from the two sides’ current versions.
“You can see the development of Gilas players with Coach Tim and everything,” Reid noted after finishing Sunday’s game with six points and six boards in 31 minutes. “You guys have really taken that next step forward. And I think, honestly, that the team (Sunday) night was a much tougher game for us. I think the Hong Kong team (Sunday) night was honestly a little bit less experienced than that team.
“So we were a little bit worse. And Gilas was definitely better. And I think that was shown in the final score.”
Even though the game was one-sided, Reid believes his teammates will benefit in the long run playing against the PBA’s best and in front of a typical Gilas home crowd.
“I think it’s really good. I think it’s also really good that they got to play against guys like June Mar (Fajardo), Scottie (Thompson), and JB (Justin Brownlee).
“So they can see kind of what they’re getting into. You know, you’re not going to have a PBA team that’s as stacked as Gilas. But at the same time, you get to see the physicality, the skill and those three guys, I think on our team who are playing, they’re all younger guys.
“So that’s the first time they’ve played against those guys. So it was eye-opening, to be honest. So hopefully they can prepare and they can play well throughout the whole conference.”
Banner images from FIBA.