Pinay 3x3 cagers near quarterfinals
Gilas Pilipinas inched closer to an outright quarterfinal seat after scoring back-to-back wins for a strong start in the 20th Asian Games women’s 3x3 basketball on Tuesday at the Kinjo Futo Station Square Venue.
The Philippines scored a 17-12 come-from-behind win over Mongolia in the team’s morning session debut before dominating Macau, 21-4, to cap the Pool C opening playdate.
Kacey Dela Rosa and Maria Pasilang’s torrid scoring led the Filipinas to within a win of advancing in the knockout round.
Dela Rosa dropped 10 points on 10-of-15 field goal shooting in Gilas’ hard-fought win over the clingy Mongolians.
The Filipinas trailed, 10-11, with 3:12 left before Dela Rosa went on a tear and scored six unanswered points to give Gilas a four-point lead with just 63 seconds left in the game.
Mongolia stopped the bleeding with a split from the foul line by Nyamtsetseg Batjargal before Pasilang and Dela Rosa sank two more points to finish off the Mongolians as time expired.
Dela Rosa shook off a right-ankle sprain suffered just two minutes into the opening game and returned to dominate inside.
"It (injury) is not an excuse to stop fighting. I came back, and we got the win," the 22-year-old Dela Rosa said.
"I saw my team and the opponents were up already, and it clicked from there that they need me inside. So, I tied my shoes and came back in," said the Ateneo De Manila University standout, who was part of the Philippines’ gold medal-winning 3x3 team at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
Not to be outdone, Pasilang finished with eight points and grabbed six rebounds in the afternoon match as Dela Rosa took a backseat in scoring.
Pasilang shot 6-of-9 from the field, while Dela Rosa went perfect in her attempts, nailing three one-pointers and converting her lone foul shot in the lopsided match that ended with 2:57 left on the clock.
After Macau opened the scoring, Gilas strung together 15 straight points to control the match. The Philippines built a 20-3 gap before Macau scored one last time.
Pasilang’s drive put a close to the massacre.
KA Kennan had three points against Mongolia before submitting seven in Gilas’ rout of Macau.
Gilas aims for a quarters berth against also unbeaten Malaysia today.
The top teams from the four pools automatically advance to the next round while the Nos. 2 and 3 will dispute the last four quarters seat through a knockout play-in round.
Meanwhile, undefeated Gilas Men battle Kazakhstan to formalize their entry to the quarterfinals.
The Nic Cabañero, Koji Buenaflor, Luis Pablo, and Doy Dungo-bannered Pinoy hoops squad defeated Mongolia and Sri Lanka in Pool A action on Monday.