Gilas 3x3 Women claim silver as men miss podium to cap off Asian Beach Games

SANYA, April 30 ------ The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 Women were unable to clinch a coveted gold medal in the 6th Asian Beach Games after falling against host country China, 21-13, in the gold medal match at the Sanya Sports Centre Gymnasium.

Going up against bigger defenders, the quartet of Mikka Cacho, Tantoy Ferrer, Kaye Pingol, and Gabi Bade were left trailing in the final. While speed and consistent drives to the basket made things interesting after an and-one from Bade got the Philippines within four points, 12-16, with 3:34 remaining in the match, they just couldn’t escape the towering presence of Hengyu Yang who ended up with seven points in the victory.

After the match, Gilas 3x3 Women head coach Anton Altamirano praised his players for putting up a gallant stand despite being the underdog. “Medyo we ran out of gas nung dulo. Pero I'm very happy with our performance. We really gave them a battle in the last game. Obviously, the height difference was a big factor,” Altamirano told POC Media at the venue. “Pero I think if we had enough rest, siguro medyo banged up na rin sila. Pero I think if we could probably give us another game against them, I think we'll have a different result.”

Cacho led Gilas in the losing effort with five points as Ferrer added four markers. Pingol and Bade chipped in two points each. Earlier, the men’s team couldn’t catch a break against the host country as well, missing out on a medal with a similar 21-13 loss in the battle for bronze. Gelo Crisostomo, Nic Cabañero, and Jeff Manday shared the rock on scoring with four points each in the loss while Aldous Torculas had one point. Diancheng Ma paced China in the bronze medal win with seven points. The Gilas Women thus add their silver to the Philippines’ overall medal tally in Sanya to close out the multi-sport event with three golds, four silvers, and two bronzes.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com