Uratex Dream, Half Court Group gun for 3x3 glory in New York

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino teams Uratex Dream and Half Court Group are bent on making some noise in the Red Bull Half Court World Final, as they compete in New York.

Uratex Dream, headlined by Sam Harada, Kaye Pingol, Eunique Chan and Afril Bernardino, will try to go much deeper in the women’s world final this year, after reaching the quarterfinals last year in Serbia.

On the other hand, Half Court Group will be made up of Chester Saldua, Matt Salem, Jordan Bartlett and Gryann Mendoza.

According to Half Court Group coach Mau Belen, her group’s outside shooting and speed “will always be our main weapons.”

“In practice, we make sure to improve these two skill sets and use (them) efficiently in order to help us win games,” she said.

“We are trying to focus on positioning better inside the court, so we’ll give ourselves a chance to keep the ball alive and maintain an even count on possession against the other teams,” she added.

For her part, Pingol said that the Philippines’ squad is better equipped this time compared to last year.

“We want to be better than last year and we’re aiming for the best. We are fighters and we will do our best to get that championship,” Pingol said of the team coached by Kat Quimpo.

They were able to barge into the quarterfinal of last year’s tourney, before ultimately falling to Australia.

“I think we learned how important yung patience and being in control is these past few months na we’re preparing for the World Final,” Pingol stressed.

“We always start slow, so if we can adjust agad na we can control the game, maganda ang magiging resulta para sa amin.”

The main difference in this year’s team is the addition of Afril Bernardino, Pingol said.

“Mas lumakas yung team namin with ate Afril na veteran na when it comes to playing internationally. Mas naga-guide niya kami sa loob ng court and ina-advice niya kami sa mga gagawin namin… Mas na-build yung samahan namin hindi lang sa loob ng court but also outside kaya we’re really confident and ready para sa Red Bull World Final."