The Gilas Pilipinas men’s 3×3 team was warmly welcomed and rewarded by the leadership of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
Following its solid showing in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, the squad made up of Almond Vosotros, Joseph Eriobu, Lervin Flores and Samboy de Leon wound up fourth in the tournament behind Australia, New Zealand and China.
They scored a thrilling come-from-behind win against top-seed and 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup silver medalist Mongolia in the quarterfinals where Vosotros hit a game-winning two-point shot.
“We’re very proud of their accomplishment and that’s why we saw it fit to give them incentives,” Panlilio said.
“Representing the Philippines in different international basketball competitions always entails sacrifice for the team members. The SBP wanted to show our appreciation to the squad because they represented us well.”
Led by coach Lester del Rosario, who was aided by SBP 3×3 Program Director Ronnie Magsanoc, PBA 3×3 tournament director Joey Guanio, PBA 3×3 chairperson Dickie Bachmann, and PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, the performance of the team is proof that the partnership between the SBP and the PBA is headed in the right direction.
“This fourth place finish proves that we’ve learned from the challenges we met in the past. Because of the unwavering support of the PBA 3×3 community, we were able to form a team that was competitive against Asia’s best,” Panlilio added.
“This will inspire us to work even harder as the next goal will be to reclaim the gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games.”