By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Gilas Pilpinas eyes a strong start to its campaign when it takes on lower seeded rivals in the pool play of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup on Friday, March 31 at the Singapore Sports Hub OCBC Square in Singapore.
The Nationals, spearheaded by 3×3 star Almond Vosotros along with Jorey Napoles, Samboy De Leon and Brandon Bates begin their campaign against the winner of the qualifying Pool D in its first assignment at 3:15 p.m.
They then wrap up their pool schedule with a clash against fifth seeded Qatar in their second game at 8:45 p.m.
Gilas needs to finish at least in the top 2 and would only need one win in the group play to advance to the quarterfinals. Last year Gilas split its assignments in the pool matches but proved to be enough to advance to the next round where they set up a clash against then top-seed Mongolia.
Vosotros and company, however pulled off what initially thought to be the improbable when a late deuce from the pint-sized guard sent the Mongolians packing and allowed the Filipinos to reach the semis after a 21-20 decision.
For their first match, the Filipinos could face either Malaysia or Iran as the two teams lead their group in the qualifying draw. Either of the two, however, poses enough threat to Gilas despite their lower seeding in the tournament.
The bigger battle however lies in its showdown against Qatar who was not too far behind in terms of the seeding and will be bannered by 6-foot-8 big man Souley Ndour and its best ranked 3×3 player in 18-year-old Mohammed Abasher.
