Gilas Pilipinas Men turned a narrow loss into fuel for their campaign as they advanced to the knockout stages of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026.
The Philippine squad—Chris Koon, Ralph Cu, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Sean Alter—fell just short against world No. 10 Mongolia, losing 21-19 (8:00), before bouncing back with a commanding 21-13 (7:59) victory over Chinese-Taipei on Saturday at OCBC Square in Singapore.
Ahanmisi spearheaded the effort against Chinese-Taipei, tallying 11 points, including four deuces, to secure the win for Gilas.
The Philippines dominated from the outset, leading 15-8 midway through the game after back-to-back deuces from Ahanmisi.
(C) FIBA 3×3
Ralph Cu then took over, converting multiple baskets to put Gilas at match point.
After a Chinese-Taipei score, Ahanmisi cleaned up Cu’s miss to seal the game with exactly 2:01 remaining.
Cu finished with three points and six rebounds, while Koon added five points and three boards.
Chen Chiachuan and Chang Chunsheng paced Chinese-Taipei with five points each.
Gilas Men will now face Pool C’s top seed, South Korea, in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 4:35 p.m.
Earlier, Mongolia topped Pool A by defeating Chinese-Taipei 21-15 (9:57), setting up a thrilling matchup against Gilas in their second game.
(C) FIBA 3×3
Gilas jumped out to an early 12-5 lead behind Cu, but Mongolia—experienced veterans on the World Tour circuit—steadily chipped away.
Chinkhutag Munkh-Ulzii drained back-to-back deuces to give Mongolia a 19-18 advantage with 3:11 remaining. Koon quickly tied the game, but with 2:34 left, Ganbaatar Nyamdorj pushed Mongolia to match point.
Ahanmisi and Cu each had two clean looks from deep that could have sealed the game for Gilas, but couldn’t find the basket.
Nyamdorj powered through the paint, sinking a decisive hook shot with two minutes remaining to secure the top seed for Mongolia.
Cu and Koon contributed eight and seven points, respectively, with Cu also grabbing five rebounds.
Bolor-Erdene Gantsolmon led Mongolia with seven points, followed by Nyamdorj’s six, while Munkh-Ulzii and Sugar-Ochir Erdenetsetseg chipped in four apiece.
Before the main draw, Gilas had to battle through the qualifying round, edging past Maldives 21-16 (8:14) and Thailand 17-15 to earn their spot in the tournament.
Men’s Pool A
First game:
Mongolia 21 – Gantsolmon 7, Nyamdorj 6, Erdenetsetseg 6, Munkh-Ulzii 2.
Chinese-Taipei 15 – Chang 10, Chen C. 4, Fu 1, Chen T. 0.
Time: Nyamdorj 1 (:03).
Second game:
Mongolia 21 – Gantsolmon 7, Nyamdorj 6, Erdenetsetseg 4, Munkh-Ulzii 4.
Philippines 19 – Cu 8, Koon 7, Ahanmisi 2, Alter 2.
Time: Nyamdorj 1 (2:00)
Third Game:
Philippines 21 – Ahanmisi 11, Koon 5, Cu 3, Alter 2.
Chinese-Taipei 13 – Chang 5, Chen C. 5, Fu 3, Chen T. 0.
Time: Ahanmisi 1 (2:01)
