Gilas Pilipinas girls team suffered an early boot in the FIBA 3x3 U17 Asia Cup after yielding to both Hong Kong and Thailand in the qualifying draw.
The Filipinas exited the tournament winless after bowing against Hong Kong, 19-15, in their first assignment before dropping a heartbreaking 21-20 loss to Thailand to wrap up their campaign.
In its opening game, Gilas couldn’t sustain its good start where it took an 8-6 lead behind Camille Nolasco. The Filipinas suddenly struggled to find the bottom of the net as Hong Kong took advantage with its own 9-2 run to take a 15-10 advantage.
Nolasco tried to light the fire on Gilas with a late rally that cut the deficit to just two, 17-15, but still went futile against the back-to-back baskets from Hong Kong which sealed its spot to the main draw after also beating Thailand, 13-11 early on.
Nolasco showed the way with nine points while Pring chipped in five.
The loss meanwhile dashed all the hopes of the Filipinas to advance to the next round although they still got the chance to wrap up their campaign on high note against Thailand in their final assignment.
The Thais, however, had other things on their mind as they recovered from a 9-4 deficit to eventually take an 18-16 edge against the Filipinas. Timely hits from BJ Villarin and Nicole Pringle helped Gilas tie the knot at 20-all before Rotrasamee Sinlapawisut nailed the dagger that denied Gilas a graceful exit to the tournament.
Pring had 10 points while Nolasco added eight all on a losing effort.