By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
PBA 3×3 multi-champion scoring machine Almond Vosotros isn’t done dominating and led the Gilas Pilipinas national 3×3 squad to a 2022 FIBA Asia Cup main draw ticket.
After Joseph Eriobu’s heroics that led Gilas to a 21-19 victory against the towering Jordan national team, Vosotros this time answered the call and put on a shooting clinic in their win against Indonesia, 21-15.
The TNT Tropang Giga 3×3 superstar erupted for 11 big points and sank a barrage of long-range bombs including his patent step-back shots and insane fadeaways in the baseline.
It was all Gilas from the get-go as Vosotros immediately caught fire and schooled the Indonesia defense.
The duo of Lervin Flores and Eriobu also did a solid job manning the paint, containing the long Indonesians while scoring on multiple put-backs that helped maintain their lead midway in the game.
Small forward Samboy De Leon also balled out against Indonesia and proved to be the team’s perimeter stopper, one of the main reasons that limited Indonesia’s outside shooting.
With the twin wins against Jordan and Indonesia, the Gilas quartet is now qualified in the main draw and will kick off their quest for a championship title when they square off against host country Singapore today.
After their game against Singapore at 3:35 PM, the Filipinos will then take on the top-seeded Chinese squad in the last scheduled game at 9:25 PM.
On the women’s side, the Gilas 3×3 Filipinas weren’t able to advance to the next round after losing at the hands of Thailand and Jordan.
The Filipina hoopers had the chance against Thailand but couldn’t sustain their run in the last three minutes of the game and lost, 11-13.
The Gilas 3×3 women’s team is composed of Afril Bernardino, Khate Castillo, Trina Guytingco, and Camille Clarin.
