RANDOLPH B. LEONGSON
GILAS Pilipinas Men's 3x3 bowed out contention for the the 2019 Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup main tournament, losing to Qatar, 21-17, on Thursday at Changsha, China.
Playing without flamboyant guard Ricci Rivero, who suffered an ankle sprain in the opener, the Filipino squad was no match against the much-experienced Qatari side as Fadi Abilmona shredded his unproven foes to pieces to grab an early 6-1 lead.
The lead swelled to 10 points, 16-6, after a drive from Abdulrahman Saad.
RJ Abarrientos again tried to tow the Philippines back into the game and the Filipinos got to within three, 20-17.
Abilmona, however, finally put the nail in the coffin with a running jumper.
Abarrientos scored 12 for the Philippines, which went 0-2 in the qualifying round.
Rhayyan Amsali added three points, while Barkley Ebona scored two.
The Philippines wraps up its assignment in the qualifying round against Iran and Samoa on Thursday.
Abilmona led with nine points for the Qatari side which was mostly made up of professional 3x3 players suiting up for Katara in the World Tour.
Nedim Muslic added five, as Bobo Magassa had four in Qatar’s opening match.
Qatar 21 - Abilmona 9, Muslic 5, Magassa 4, Saad 3.
Philippines 17 - Abarrientos 12, Amsali 3, Ebona 2.