Phl U16, U18 3x3 prevail in FIBA tiffs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ two teams pulled off contrasting victories to mark their respective campaigns in the third FIBA-Asia Under-16 Championship in Tehran, Iran and the 2013 FIBA 3x3 U-18 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday.

The Nationals rallied then survived a late, torrid shooting by Leonid Voronushkin to escape with a 90-88 victory over Kazakhstan at the start of the biennial meet where they hope to match, if not surpass the country’s fourth place finishes in its first two stagings.

The 3x3 squad of Thirdy Ravena, Arvin Tolentino, Prince Rivero and Kobe Paras likewise made quite an impression as it swept Pool B with victories over Chinese Taipei, Guatemala and Andorra.

The Filipinos are one of the six unbeaten teams, including tournament favorite USA, the reigning champion, and emerged as the best in offense after amassing a total score of 63 points.

Puerto Rico of Pool A, Argentina of Pool C and Germany and Poland in Pool D also swept their respective groups.

Over in Iran, the Phl came back from five points down in the fourth quarter with clutch baskets by Joseph Nieto and key stops in the stretch.