Manila Gilas were booted out of the Shanghai 3X3 Challengers, no thanks to the heartbreaking 20-21 loss they absorbed from Bosnian ball club Vitez EcosRomari, Friday in China.
The Ronnie Magsanoc-coached Filipino dribblers – made up of PBA D-League stars Jeff Viernes, Gab Banal, and Trevis Jackson, and American import Jamal Thomas – finished with a 0-2 record in Pool C.
Their first loss came in the hands of Zemun from Serbia, 10-22. Zemun is currently the sixth-best 3×3 ball club in the world after five stagings of the ongoing 2018 FIBA 3X3 World Tour.
Manila Gilas were on track to atone for their sorry loss to the strong Serbians, as they held their ground against the much taller EcosRomari side – they even sat on the driver’s seat, 12-8, at one point.
But the men from Bosnia and Herzegovina showed their experience later on, as they managed to climb back from the four-point deficit to snatch the lead, 20-18, come the game’s closing minutes
Thomas, a former PBA import candidate, strapped Manila on his back by scoring twice to tie the game up at 20-all. But Lady Luck sided Vitez, as a free throw with 26 ticks left sealed the deal.
Vitez and Zemun will go on to the quarterfinals tomorrow, September 8, at the last day of the showpiece.
The top two teams in the tourney would qualify for the Hyderabad Masters.
