BOCAUE, Bulacan – The Philippines men’s 3×3 team banked on a strong start to get away with a 15-7 upset over Brazil in the 2018 FIBA 3×3 World Cup on Saturday at the Philippine Arena.
Roger Pogoy, Jeth Troy Rosario and Stanley Pringle led the way with 4 points each while Filipino-German center Christian Standhardinger added 3 markers for the Filipino squad.
After an opening basket by Brazil, Philippines scored 8 straight points, a basket and a foul by Standhardinger, and back-to-back outside shots from Pogoy for an 8-1 advantage.
The Philippines pulled away further 11-2 on a free throw by Standhardinger and back-to-back layups by Pringle but Brazil capitalized on miscues by the home team to close the gap 6-11.
The Filipinos halted Brazil’s run with back-to-back conversions from Rosario before Pringle finished the match with two blow-by layups over the much taller Brazilian defenders.
For their part, the Philippine women’s team dropped their first two matches – against the Netherlands (11-21) and Germany (10-12) – on Friday night.
The Philippines was hurt by the torrid outside shooting of the Netherlands, including four from Karin Kujit. The host squad also committed seven fouls against the Dutch, dooming its chances.
Meanwhile, the Filipinas gave Germany a huge scare and had a chance to force an extension if not for the consecutive missed outside shots by Janine Pontejos in the final seconds.
The Philippine women’s team, currently on last place in Group D, still has two games today – against Spain at 4:20 p.m. and Hungary at 7 p.m./PN
