Coming off a crushing 2-22 loss to world no. 3 France, Gilas Pilipinas Girls’ 3×3 bounced back, stunning host Mongolia, 20-14, Monday evening in Ulaanbaatar.
The Philippines ended the day with a 1-1 record in Pool C of the 2019 FIBA 3X3 Under-18 World Championships. France and the Netherlands are ahead with 1-0 records, while Czech Republic and Mongolia are at 0-1.
The top two teams will advance to the knockout playoffs in this level 10-FIBA tournament.
Though Mongolia’s Enermaa Erdenebayar scored the first bucket of the game, Camille Clarin, Angelica Surada, and Ella Fajardo were unperturbed by the hostile crowd. The trio went on a 6-3 surge capped by a Fajardo deuce for a 9-5 lead early in the game.
Fajardo, a pint-sized Filipino-American guard, had five points in the game.
Erdenebayar tried to will Mongolia on her own, cutting the lead to just four with 4:28 left. However, Fajardo managed to find Clarin for a deuce that stopped Mongolia’s rally.
Surada then took charge late, scoring the Philippines’ last three points to seal the country’s first-ever win in the youth tournament.
Surada had seven points, while Clarin added six markers
Erdenebayar paced Mongolia with 14 points.
The Philippines will next face the Netherlands on Wednesday, June 5 at 5:00 pm.
The Scores:
Philippines 20 – Surada 7, Clarin 6, Fajardo 5, Pingol 2.
Mongolia 14 – Erdenebayar 9, Baterdene 4, Altantsol 1, Munkhbat 0.
