Lee fell in straight games to Anthony Ginting in the first men’s singles game, which ultimately paved the way for Indonesia to down Malaysia 3-1 and clinch their third consecutive title.
However, the lanky shuttler said a world of good came out of the biennial meet, among which was the rise of Cheam June Wei.
"I hope Cheam can continue to play this way. If he can improve his world rankings soon, there will be healthy competition among us.
"I hope the rest can also progress, so we can help the team," said Lee.
Cheam was in exceptional form in Manila and capped a fine outing by beating the higher ranked Jonatan Christie in the second singles match in the final.
The world number 72 has some way to catch up Lee, 14th in the world, on the world rankings, but the Asian meet could be just the tonic for him.
Besides that, Lee also said reaching the final must not be a flash in the pan for the Malaysian male shuttlers.
"Of course we are happy to have made the final, but we must understand that the Chinese team did not participate.
"The Japanese team also did not send their strongest team, so we cannot be complacent.
"It remains to be seen if we can qualify for another cup final. I think if we play without high expectations, our results can be better," he added.
The Chinese team were banned from competing in Manila due to coronavirus outbreak, while Japan were without their singles ace Kento Momota and doubles pairing of Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda and Hiroyuki Endo-Yuta Watanabe.
The Malaysia national men's badminton team will get another chance to impress when the Thomas Cup takes place in Denmark in May.