Call it a double whammy for Gilas Pilipinas team in the FIBA Asia Cup 3×3 2023 as the Filipinos suffered their second loss in a day and officially got eliminated on Friday at the Singapore Sports Hub in OCBC Square.
A few hours after losing a heartbreaker against Iran, the Pinoy ballers were given another stinging defeat, this time by Qatar, which scored a 21-18 victory to advance to the next round.
Almond Vosotros led the way for the Philippines with nine points, including four two-point shots, as he made up for his sub-par showing in the 11-14 loss earlier against Iran.
But the Filipinos just couldn’t find a way to stop their bigger rivals, particularly Souley Ndour, a 6-foot-9 center, who pumped in 13 of his team’s 21 points.
Ndour also grabbed eight rebounds.
Once again, the Filipinos had been plagued by foul troubles as they hit the penalty situation with 5:56 left in the match and picked up a total of 10 fouls, leading to free throw shots plus possessions for their Qatari rivals.