SO long, Tokyo dreams?
With its bid in peril, the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 squad needs a miracle of sorts today in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifying tournament in Graz, Austria.
The Filipinos wind up their group play campaign when they tackle Dominican Republic at 5:50 p.m. and France at 7:55 p.m. at the picturesque Main Square’s Thunderdome.
Gilas must sweep its last two matches in the four-group, 20-country tilt to give itself a chance to finish in the top 2 in Pool C and advance to the knockout rounds.
The quartet of San Miguel Beer teammates CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa, Fil-Am wingman Joshua Munzon, and Leonard Santillan, who got the nod to suit up in the team’s first two games in lieu of Alvin Pasaol, paid a dear price for their sluggish showing on Wednesday night.
Gilas absorbed a disappointing 12-21 loss to Qatar in its opener and then another lopsided 11-21 setback to Slovenia.
The 6-foot-4 Munzon led Gilas with five points, while Perez had five markers but Tautuaa and Santillan could only muster a point each against the Qataris.
Munzon carried Gilas anew with seven points but Perez and Tautuaa got three and one, respectively, in their defeat to Slovenia.
Bloodied but unbowed, coach Ronnie Magsanoc vowed his charges will not go silently into the night.
“Hopefully, the experience learned from playing in the first two games will help the team compete better in our last two outings,” Magsanoc was quoted as saying by online sports website Spin.ph.
“We will keep preparing hard for the next two matches,” he added.
The nationals are also hoping that Slovenia and either of France and Qatar go winless today so a three-way tie could be forged.
If that happens, the team with the highest total points scored will reach the knockout stages.
Three slots are at stake in the joust for the sport’s debut in the Tokyo Olympic Games set to open in July.
Perez and Tautuaa were part of the gold medal-winning team in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila in 2019, while Munzon, Pasaol, and Santillan are the Nos. 1, 2, and 8 3×3 players in the country, respectively.
