At A Glance
- SANYA, China — The Gilas Pilipinas teams sustained their hot runs as they dispatched their respective foes to advance to the semifinals of the 3x3 basketball tournament in the 6th Asian Beach Games at the Sanya Gymnasium on Tuesday, April 28.
SANYA, China — The Gilas Pilipinas teams sustained their hot runs as they dispatched their respective foes to advance to the semifinals of the 3x3 basketball tournament in the 6th Asian Beach Games at the Sanya Gymnasium on Tuesday, April 28.
The men’s team overcame a tough challenge from India, 18-14, while the women’s team pulled away late to beat Kazakhstan in their quarterfinals matches.
Jeff Manday took over for Gilas in the waning seconds, scoring the game-tying layup with 19 seconds left before Aldous Torculas got fouled after a hard drive to the basket.
Torculas nailed the two crucial free throws as Gilas took a 16-14 lead after trailing 13-14 before the Manday floater.
Nic Cabanero still led the way for Gilas Men’s with six points while Manday had all of his three points late to put the game away against India.
“Maganda yung character ng team. Sobrang pasensyoso. Kahit underdog kami, lumalaban kami. Thankful ako sa mga teammates ko mga young guns,” said Manday.
On the distaff side, Mika Cacho and Reynalyn Ferrer spearheaded the attack for the Filipinas, who unloaded a crucial 6-2 run.
The huge rally allowed the Nationals to create the much-needed separation, 12-8, after only leading by one 6-5 early in the contest.
Cacho and Ferrer had five points each as the Filipinas kept their record pristine through four games beginning the pool play where they defeated Macao, China, Indonesia, and Kyrgyztan.
The men’s team will take on Southeast Asian rival Thailand in the semis while the women’s squad will face Singapore.