By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Gilas Pilipinas’ 3×3 team’s dream of making it to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics is now over.
A disappointing winless finish in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) broke PH’s hearts while finishing dead last in the tournament.
The last-place finish is the worst in PH’s 3×3 history while also formally closing their doors in qualifying for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
The roster of Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Moala Tautuaa, Leonard Santillan, and Alvin Pasaol could not get to any rhythm after losing all four of their matches in Graz, Austria.
Gilas faced a beating against Qatar and Slovenia, 12-21 and 11-21 respectively, and bowed down on day two against Dominican Republic, 11-22, and France, 14-15.
In any age bracket in PH 3×3 history, the current lineup’s result edged the roster of Arvin Tolentino, Thirdy Ravena, Kobe Paras, and Prince Rivero during the 2013 FIBA Under-18 World Cup that finished in 18th place out of the 32 nations.
The quartet will go home with heads held high and will take the experience as part of their learning curve heading into the next tournaments.
