Hanoi—After completing a big comeback against Thailand, the Gilas Pilipinas men’s squad suddenly sputtered and got scuttled by Indonesia 13-15 on Friday in the 3×3 basketball event of the 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games here.
Like the men’s squad, the Gilas Pilipinas women’s squad also found a roadblock in its title-retention bid, none other than the Vietnamese team powered by the Truong sisters who played NCAA Division I ball at Gonzaga University.
With Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong draining crucial two-pointers, the host team battled back from a 6-10 deficit and pulled the rug from under the Filipinas, scoring a stunning 21-18 win to the delight of the full-house crowd.
Still in shock, the foursome of Janine Pontejos, Afril Bernardino, Clare Castro and Angelica Surada found Thailand a tough nut to crack in their third and last match for the day, dropping a 14-21 decision for a 1-2 mark.
Starting the day with an easy 19-7 win over Cambodia, the quartet of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Marvin Hayes, Jorey Napoles and Raymar Caduyac needed to dig deep to score a 21-16 win over a battling Thai side.
The Thais surged ahead 12-7 but blinked when the Filipinos battled back, being limited to four points the rest of the way. Ganuelas-Rosser clinched the victory for Gilas with a driving lay-up.
Indonesia seemed to be an easy customer, having lost to Singapore 15-12 and Vietnam 10-22 earlier. But after taking a 10-9 lead, Gilas got outscored 5-1 and stared at an 11-14 deficit.
After Indonesia took a 15-13 lead with one second left, Ganuelas-Rosser missed a potential game-tying two-pointer, leaving the Filipinos with a 2-1 card for the day.
Action resumes Saturday with the Gilas Pilipinas men taking on Singapore at 9:40 a.m. (10:40 a.m. Philippine time), Malaysia at 12:20 p.m. (1:20 p.m. Philippine time), and Vietnam at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Philippine time).
The women’s squad goes up against Singapore at 9:40 a.m. (10:40 a.m. Philippine time), Indonesia at 11:20 a.m. (12:20 p.m. Philippine time), and Malaysia at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Philippine time).
Both Pinoy teams need to finish in the top four of their divisions to advance to the knockout semifinals. The finals will be held later in the day, with the Filipinos bidding to retain the gold medals they won in 2019 during the initial staging of 3×3 play.