Similar to their opening day outing, Gilas Pilipinas absorbed two different results in the FIBA 3×3 World Championship 2016 Friday afternoon in Guangzhou, China.
The Filipinos brought the fight to Hungary in their 3:10PM face-off. From a 12-8 lag late, Glenn Khobuntin and Mac Belo carried Gilas to send the match to a 13-all tie. The Hungarians then answered back with four straight points through lay-ups off the post to put up a four-point lead, 17-13, with a minute to go.
With things starting to look bleak on their side, Gilas managed to make one final push. Behind Karl Dehesa, the Philippines made three quick baskets to trim the deficit by a point, 17-16, with two ticks left. However, time was not on their side, as Hungary split their charities off an intentional foul to eke out an 18-16 win.
In their last match late in the afternoon, Gilas set aside their loss against the Hungarians earlier and went on a tear against Poland. From a 9-6 lead midway, the Philippines stepped on the gas for a beastly 12-2 rally capped by a Dehesa deuce to wrap up their campaign in winning fashion, 21-8.
Prior to their Friday assignments, Gilas had had a positive start in the three-a-side tourney this past Tuesday, October 11. They posted their first win against Romania in a come-from-behind finish, 21-19. However, they bowed to the hot-shooting Spaniards, 21-16, in their next match later that day.
The Filipinos played short-handed all tournament long after versatile forward-center Russel Escoto sustained a shoulder injury in their encounter against Romania. The Far Eastern University alumnus was then sidelined for all their remaining games, forcing Gilas to play with only Belo, Dehesa, and Khobuntin.
Belo and Khobuntin were the nationals’ lynchpin on offense as they scored 28 points each in four games, averaging seven points per match.
Ending their run with a 2-2 record, the Nationals fell short of securing a slot in the tournament playoffs. The 2016 version of the biennial event marks the first appearance of Team Pilipinas on the 3×3 stage.
