By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Gilas Pilipinas men’s national 3×3 hoops team’s hopes of a podium finish in the 2023 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup are now gone after bowing out of the prestigious tournament following their two-straight losses.
After a 14-11 defeat against Iran in their opening match, the Filipinos failed to sustain their mid-game momentum against Qatar that handed them their second-consecutive loss, 21-18, last April 1, 2023, held at the Singapore Sports Hub OCBC Square.
Almond Vosotros and his teammates looked to grab the much-needed momentum after rallying from a seven-point deficit to equalize things up at 15-all.
The efforts from Jorey Napoles and Vosotros ignited Gilas’ scoring frenzy that shrugged off Qatar’s easy path to taking the win.
However, with 39 seconds left in the crucial ball game, Qatar held the Filipinos to zero points which ended their campaign in Singapore.
Qatar’s main gunner Souley Ndour proved to be Gilas’ kryptonite when he countered with a personal 3-0 offensive run that rewarded them with the victory.
Aside from his scoring prowess, Ndour’s presence in the shaded lane prevented any easy scoring opportunities for Gilas that relied mostly on paint attacking during that 7-0 spurt.
Vosotros top-scored Gilas’ losing effort with nine markers while TNT Tropang Giga teammate Samboy De Leon added five points.
Napoles, the newest addition in the Gilas 3×3 squad expected to backstop Vosotros in the scoring department, chipped in three points.
With the way things closed out for the 3×3 national team, Gilas will look to go back to the drawing board and failed to replicate its fourth-place finish during last year’s edition of the FIBA Asia Cup.
