SANYA, China — The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 women are assured of a best-ever finish at the Asian Beach Games after entering the final, beating Singapore, 20-13, in the semifinals at the Sanya Sports Centre Gymnasium on Wednesday here.
Mikka Cacho keyed crucial runs, including an early and-one play followed by a score to push Gilas’ lead to four, 9-5, with 6:46 left in the ball game.
While the Singaporeans tried to keep things interesting with their outside shooting when they were within three points, 9-12, Tantoy Ferrer and Kaye Pingol connived to keep the cushion for the Philippines. With 2:26 left, Gilas were ahead by six, 17-11.
After the match, Cacho admitted that it was a hard-fought win and they are now expecting a dogfight against host country China, whom they face in the final at 7 p.m., also on Wednesday.
“Sobrang saya. Pero pagod na pagod na. Pero, yeah, job's not done. Mayroon pa kaming finals game [for the] gold medal. We'll do our best (I’m very happy, but also really exhausted. Still, the job’s not done. We still have the finals for the gold medal, and we’ll do our best),” she told POC Media at the venue.
Cacho finished with a team-high outing of eight points while Ferrer added six markers of her own. Pingol chipped in five points while Gabi Bade put the icing on the cake with the last point of the match with five seconds remaining.
China clinched its spot in the final after outlasting Thailand in a thriller, 18-16, in the other semifinal earlier.
Meanwhile, a brave fightback from the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 men’s team just fell short as they dropped an 18-20 decision against Southeast Asian rival Thailand in the semifinals.
The Nationals battled back from a huge 13-19 deficit behind the efforts of Nic Cabanero inside the last three minutes, but it came a little too late as the time ran out for Gilas.
The Filipinos actually threatened against the Thais, cutting the lead down to just two, 18-20. Gilas, however, came out dry in their last two possessions as the Thais advanced to the gold medal match.
“Sa dulo parang nakahabol kami pero we came short pa rin. Siguro more experience pa para sa amin (In the end, it felt like we were catching up, but we still came up short. Maybe we just need more experience),” said Manday.
“Siguro yung defense and yung plays namin hindi maitakbo. Credits rin sa Thailand talagang trinabaho rin nila (Maybe our defense and execution also fell short. Credit to Thailand because they really worked for it),” he added as Gilas allowed Thailand to pull away from a tight 12-12 count. PR
