Late run vs Qatar not enough as Gilas bows out of FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup
A late run spearheaded by Jorey Napoles and Almond Vosotros were not enough for Gilas Pilipinas as it suffered a heartbreaking 21-18 loss at the hands of Qatar in the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2023 at the Singapore Sports Hub OCBC Square on Friday, March 31.
The Filipinos battled back from a 15-8 deficit and even tied the game at 18-all but couldn’t complete the comeback as Souley Ndour delivered the dagger deuce and the game-clinching free throw for the Qataris to seal the win even with seven seconds left. Still reeling from an upset defeat in its first assignment against Iran, the same problems hounded Gilas in the second game as they struggled to stop the bigger and stronger Qataris, who took advantage of every mismatch inside the paint. Qatar quickly seized control of the contest in the early going, unleashing a 10-3 run to break a 3-all deadlock and take a commanding 13-6 lead. Gilas, refusing to just rollover and die, banked on the outside sniping of Vosotros and the agility of Napoles, whose late layup tied the game at 18-all. But the Filipino dribblers couldn’t pull off the much-needed stops as the late run hardly rattled the fifth-seeded Qatar. Vosotros showed the way with nine points built on four two-pointers while Samboy De Leon provided support with five markers. Ndour exploded for 13 points for Qatar while Mohammed Abbasher added five markers.
*Almond Vosotros was a marked man against Qatar (FIBA Photo)
*The Filipinos battled back from a 15-8 deficit and even tied the game at 18-all but couldn’t complete the comeback as Souley Ndour delivered the dagger deuce and the game-clinching free throw for the Qataris to seal the win even with seven seconds left. Still reeling from an upset defeat in its first assignment against Iran, the same problems hounded Gilas in the second game as they struggled to stop the bigger and stronger Qataris, who took advantage of every mismatch inside the paint. Qatar quickly seized control of the contest in the early going, unleashing a 10-3 run to break a 3-all deadlock and take a commanding 13-6 lead. Gilas, refusing to just rollover and die, banked on the outside sniping of Vosotros and the agility of Napoles, whose late layup tied the game at 18-all. But the Filipino dribblers couldn’t pull off the much-needed stops as the late run hardly rattled the fifth-seeded Qatar. Vosotros showed the way with nine points built on four two-pointers while Samboy De Leon provided support with five markers. Ndour exploded for 13 points for Qatar while Mohammed Abbasher added five markers.