Gilas Pilipinas Men’s Cinderella run in the 2026 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup came to an end at the hands of a familiar foe.
The Philippines fell 15–18 to South Korea in the quarterfinals of the continental tournament on Sunday at OCBC Square in Singapore.
Both teams, having battled through the qualifying draw, played a tight game from start to finish.
Knotted at 9-all after a Jerrick Ahanmisi deuce, Sean Alter fouled Lee Donggeun from deep, allowing another Donggeun basket. A drive by Lee Juyeong soon gave Korea a 14–10 lead.
Ahanmisi carried the load for Gilas shortly after, cutting the deficit to 16–15, but Ku Mingyo responded to restore a two-point cushion for South Korea.
A turnover by Chris Koon, a Donggeun block on Ralph Cu’s attempt, and a shot-clock violation further hindered Gilas. Juyeong then nailed the dagger basket late in the game.
Donggeun led Korea with eight points on three deuces, while Juyeong and Ku combined for nine more.
For Gilas, Ahanmisi paced the team with eight points, all from beyond the arc, while Koon and Alter added three each. Cu struggled, going 1-of-9 from the field for a single point.
Despite the loss, this marks Gilas Men’s best performance in the Asia Cup in four years. In 2022, the team finished fourth, but in the years since, they had been unable to advance past the group stage.
It was still a strong campaign for the Philippines.
Gilas battled through the qualifying round, edging past Maldives 21–16 (8:14) and Thailand 17–15 to secure their spot in the tournament.
In the main draw, they narrowly lost to highly-ranked Mongolia, 21–19 (8:00), before bouncing back with a commanding 21–13 (7:59) victory over Chinese Taipei to advance to the knockout stage.
The Scores:
Korea 18 – Lee D. 8, Lee J. 5, Ku 4, Kim 1.
Philippines 15 – Ahanmisi 8, Alter 3, Koon 3, Cu 1.
