The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 got off to a sluggish start and was not able to recover, eventually falling to Qatar, 12-21, at the start of the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Wednesday night in Graz, Austria.

The Gilas trailed 0-7 after the first minutes of the ballgame and played catch-up all game long before falling in their first game in Group C action. The loss puts the Gilas in a must-win situation versus Slovenia in their game set at 9:45 p.m.

Abdulrahman Saad and Nenad Muslic shot the lights out from beyond the arc, making five two-pointers to power Qatar to the lopsided victory. It was Muslic that gave Qatar the victory as he sank a deuce with 1:44 left in the game.

Joshua Munzon and CJ Perez had five points apiece for Gilas while Cebuano Santi Santillan and Mo Tautuaa scored one apiece in the loss. (JNP)