Jerrick Ahanmisi would be the first to admit that his first-ever FIBA 3×3 event — let alone his first Gilas experience — was an eye-opener.
But it was an experience he would not exchange for anything in the world.
“I think it was really eye-opening for me. It was something that I never got a chance to do,” shared Ahanmisi after Terrafirma’s 70-85 defeat to Magnolia in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last Tuesday. “It was my first time playing 3×3, first time playing international, first time on Gilas. So it was a lot of firsts for me, and I just tried to go into it with an open mind. And I think for my first time, it was okay.
“But I learned a lot from it, and I learned a lot of things that I can also bring to the 5-on-5 gameplay.”
Despite a sixth-place finish, it was one for the books.
For the past few years, Philippine 3×3 has been dormant, with “house players” being called up to represent the country in the annual continental meet.
Under the watch of new 3×3 program director Ryan Gregorio and head trainers Kirk Collier and Patrick Fran, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas formed a team of “5-on-5 tweeners” — the ideal players for 3×3.
There were no pure point guards. Instead, the team featured big guards in Ahanmisi, Chris Koon, and Ralph Cu, along with Sean Alter — a big man who has proven in UAAP 3×3 that he can also knock down the two-ball.
Gilas Men’s 3×3 breezed through the qualifying draw, ousting Maldives and Thailand.
In the group stages, they gave highly touted Mongolia a scare before bowing, 21-19.
#WATCH: JERRICK’S GILAS MOMENT 🇵🇭
Jerrick Ahanmisi capped his 11-point masterpiece against Chinese-Taipei with the killshot that sent Gilas Men to the quarterfinals of #3x3Asia 🏀#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/JfQbZ8qkil
📹 FIBA 3×3#LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/O7gESASyEX
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 4, 2026
With their knockout round hopes on the line, Ahanmisi took charge, scoring 11 points on four deuces in a 21-13 rout of Chinese Taipei.
However, their run ended at the hands of eventual finalist South Korea, 18-15, in a thrilling quarterfinal match.
“The only reason why I say it’s okay is that we didn’t end up getting a medal. We got 6th place, I think, in Asia. I mean, it’s good that we moved our rank higher. We were number 9, but now we’re number 6, so that was a good thing,” he said.
“But obviously, when you play in tournaments or play basketball, you want to get to the top, right? But maybe just because it’s my first time, maybe it’s just not in the right cards for me right now.”
Ahanmisi finished as the 11th-best scorer in the tournament with a total of 21 points, while ranking 19th in player value at 20.1. Cu placed 14th with a player value of 22.7.
If he had his way, Ahanmisi wants to run it back next year with the same crew.
“It’s cool because we have a mixture of a lot of things. We have Ralph, who can shoot, we have Chris, who can slash and shoot a bit, and then we have Sean, who can rebound and be a big man in the post as well. So it’s a lot of things that we need to work on still. And there are a lot of things that Coach Kirk has to teach us about 3×3, and that all comes with experience as well,” he said.
“I was telling my wife the other day that I really want to go back. Like, even the next day when I flew back, I saw her, I was like, I want to go back there right now. I want to play again. Because it’s that fun.”
#WATCH: AN EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE 🏀
Jerrick Ahanmisi looks back fondly on a series of firsts — playing 3×3, competing internationally, and, of course, representing the country#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/XXQSAMBJ0Y
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA50 #3x3Asia pic.twitter.com/EZVFRR8gxh
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 7, 2026
