The Philippines seeks to secure a strong finish at the 2024 edition of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup on Sunday inside the Singapore Sports Hub.
Gilas Women has won all five of their assignments so far. They survived qualifying with victories over Tahiti (21-3), Maldives (19-11), and Kazakhstan (21-12) to earn a spot in pool play, where they took care of business against Mongolia and Malaysia.
Jhazmin Joson got hot from deep against the former, finishing up with eleven points anchored on four two-point buckets, in a 19-8 win.
Gilas Women scored the first five points of the match and never looked back, erecting a 10-3 lead with five minutes left, raising it to 17-7 after a Kaye Pingol two-pointer with 126 seconds left. A free throw from Joson capped the score for the Filipinas with thirteen seconds left.
As for the latter, they followed a similar playbook. They racked up a 5-1 lead on their way to a 17-10 triumph. This time, it was a balanced scoring effort. Joson still led the quartet with six points, but both Mikka Cacho and Pingol netted four each, with Clarin scoring the remaining three points. The National University standout also added six rebounds in the effort.
Although they misfired from deep against their ASEAN neighbors with their 1/7 performance behind the arc, Gilas Women made up for it with their effort inside, going 15/26. They also made it difficult for their opposition, forcing thirteen turnovers.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas program chief for 3x3 Eric Altamirano says about Gilas Women's success so far and what lies ahead, "We’re thrilled with our victories against the tough and experienced teams from Mongolia and Malaysia. Now, our focus shifts to Chinese Taipei, who put up a strong fight against China in the main draw. It’s time to maintain our focus and give it our all in the upcoming match in the quarterfinals."
Gilas Women assistant coach Mark Solano shares about the team getting extra motivation in their opening pool play matchup against Mongolia, "When we were preparing for our game vs the Mongolians, the (PH) ladies were all pumped up especially when they learned that there are two Olympians on that team. It added fuel to their fire. Kaya nung pag-check ball pa lang and we blazed into a 5-0 start, the ladies never looked back. Doon nagulat din ang Mongolia with our speed, toughness and yung pagiging pesky natin sa defense. Sobrang big factor din that we are making our 2-pt shots."
Solano adds, "During the Malaysia game, we knew them already kasi we had a lot of tune-ups with them when they went to Manila."
Things will now be different as they enter into the knockout rounds, with Chinese-Taipei as their quarterfinal opponent at 110pm. The team managed to extend China into overtime during pool play, falling short, 9-11, after leading by 8-6 late.
They did manage to earn their spot into the next round with an 18-8 victory over hosts Singapore.
Solano shares about that matchup, "As we prepare for Chinese Taipei, we told the ladies to just stick to what we are doing, the process of what we are doing. We’re going to have some adjustments kaya non-stop scouting kami ng mga coaches."
A chance to play two more games beckons for the winner of the quarterfinals matchup, with the winner of the matchup between Japan and New Zealand waiting in the wings later in the day.
Matches can be streamed through the FIBA 3x3 YouTube account, as well as through Pilipinas Live.
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