CLARK FREEPORT ZONE – eGilas Pilipinas finished in fourth place in the eFIBA Season 3 World Finals after a heartbreaking 1-2 reverse sweep loss to Portugal in the battle for third on Thursday at the SMX Clark Convention Center here.
Meanwhile, Team USA further cemented their dominance in the world tournament, clinching back-to-back eFIBA World Finals championships after a commanding sweep of Turkey, 71-62 and 71-55, on the same day.
The eGilas squad, composed of Isaiah “Ice2Fast” Alindada, Kenneth “Clue” Gutierrez, Julian “Social” Mallillin, Prich “DonPriich” Diez, and Lynard “ZavaLCB” Banzon, showed incredible resolve in their battle-for-third match against Portugal but ultimately came up short in Games 2 and 3 after taking a commanding 1-0 series lead.
In Game 1, ZavaLCB’s stellar performance, contributing 16 points and eight assists, helped eGilas secure a thrilling 54-51 victory. The Filipinos appeared poised to clinch the series, but Portugal bounced back in Game 2, dominating the match and tying the series 1-1 with a 57-45 win.
The decisive Game 3 turned into a dramatic, emotional battle. With eGilas trailing by five points in the final minute, 43-48, a technical difficulty at the 0:38 mark disrupted the momentum. After Ice2Fast’s three-point attempt, which could have cut the deficit to two, his PlayStation 5 disconnected, causing a technical pause.
When the game resumed, Ice2Fast made another three-pointer, cutting Portugal’s lead to two points with just 12 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Portugal held on to the lead, using the remaining time wisely to secure a narrow 48-46 victory and claim third place.
“Proud ako sa ginawa ng team. Buong year kami nag-training and practice. Of course, hindi ito yung gusto nating panalo pero props pa rin sa Portugal, USA, at Turkiye kase lahat sila [ay] deserve nila yung nakuha nila ngayon,” said head coach Nite Alparas in an exclusive interview with Tiebreaker Times.
“For eGilas, tuloy-tuloy lang kami sa training. ‘Di kami titigil hangga’t hindi namin nakukuha yung title. Next year babalik kami will be much stronger,” he continued.
The Philippines’ national NBA 2K team’s journey to the World Finals began with a dominant 2-0 start in the group stage on Wednesday, sweeping both New Zealand (113-85) and Turkey (118-108). This undefeated record secured them a spot in the semi-finals, where they faced the formidable Team USA.
On the second day, the national team faced Brazil in their delayed final match-up. They lost the first game 56-58 but bounced back strong in the second game with a 52-47 win.
In the semi-finals, the Philippines struggled to gain momentum against the back-to-back champions, with Team USA sweeping the best-of-three series 2-0 in dominant fashion (67-46, 73-60).
In addition to their back-to-back championship title, Team USA will take home $20,000 from the lion’s share of the $50,000 prize pool. Turkey received $6,000 for second place, Portugal earned $4,000 for third, and the Philippines took $4,000 for finishing fourth.
ZavaLCB, MamaImDatman_, and SuperSeese from Team USA, along with CanBoym and KadoTheProblemO from Turkey, each received $1,000 for being named to the All-Star Team.
Meanwhile, Henri_Jones_ of Turkey and MamaImDatman_ each took home $2,500 after being named Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player, respectively.
To complete the final standings of the eFIBA Season 3 World Finals, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Brazil, and New Zealand rounded out the top eight, finishing in fifth through eighth place, respectively.
