Gilas Pilipinas failed to defend the gold in both the men’s and women’s 3x3 basketball competitions of the 31st Southeast Asian Games following a pair of semifinal defeats at the hands of Thailand Saturday, May 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam,
Brandon Rosser, Jorey Napoles, Reymar Caduyac and Marvin Hayes were beaten 21-17 in the men’s division while Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, Clare Castro and Angel Surada fell 21-14 in the distaff side.
The men’s squad eventually settled for bronze after a 14-10 win over Indonesia while the ladies missed out on a podium finish after a 16-10 loss to the same country.
Both teams already encountered bumps on the road at the start of the campaign before their bid to equal the double-gold performance back in the 2019 edition held at home came to an end at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
Rosser, Napoles, Caduyac and Hayes, who were sent to the regional meet for giving Limitless the PBA 3x3 first conference title last December, posted four wins and two defeats during the eliminations which was good enough for a second place finish.
But the Filipino cagers couldn’t pull off a repeat of its 21-16 win over Thailand in the elims as they ran out of steam in the latter part of the contest.
The Pinay dribblers, on the other hand, lost two of their first three games before securing the final semis berth by ending the elims at 3-3.
Hopes of turning the tables on Thailand went futile as the latter was able to take control in the latter part of the contest.
Attention now shifts on the standard 5-on-5 event which starts on Monday at the same venue with Gilas heavily favored to retain the men’s gold and the women’s team eager to repeat its breakthrough feat in 2019.