Gilas 3x3 belles storm to twin win

NAGOYA – Typhoon Dujuan veered away from Aichi Prefecture and shifted eastward, and Gilas Pilipinas Women’s 3x3 whipped up a storm of its own.

The Phl belles matched the men’s Day 1 double, warding off Mongolia, 17-12, then blasting Macau-China, 21-4, for a 2-0 start in Pool C of the 20th Asian Games.

It was a strong statement in tough conditions.

Winds blew all day at the open-air court at the Kinjo Futo Station Square, making it hard for everybody to go for long bombs – the same conditions that tested the men on opening day.

Quinn dela Rosa, Amyah Espanol, Maria Pasilang and Ka Kennan adjusted, leaning on their passing game and post maneuvers to get it done against a team from a federation long feared for its 3x3 program.

They had to work for Win No. 1.

The Filipinas sized up the Mongolians in the early going, then pulled away from an 11-11 deadlock to close it out. Burly Nyamtsetseg Batjargal was a handful early and finished with a match-high 11 points and four rebounds, but Gilas contained her down the stretch.

Dela Rosa powered the win with 10 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block. Kennan added three markers and four boards, Espanol chipped in two points, three rebounds, three blocks and two assists, and Pasilang had two points, three rebounds and two assists.

The second game was a runaway.

It was a walk in the park against Macau-China, with Pasilang leading the charge with eight points and Kennan adding seven. Dela Rosa chipped in four and Espanol had two to complete the 21-4 rout.

Gilas goes for a Pool C sweep versus Malaysia today.

In 5x5, Gilas Women settled for the second seed in Group B after their two-game run was snapped by Japan, 67-89, at the Aichi International Arena. They still advanced to the next round.

Meanwhile, the men’s 3x3 team of Nic Cabañero, Koji Buenaflor, Luis Pablo and Doy Dungo goes for a sweep of its own group versus Kazakhstan at 12:15 p.m. today.

A win would give the Philippines a sweep of the elimination round and an outright ticket to the quarterfinals.

Kazakhstan is 1-1 after losing to Mongolia and beating Sri Lanka.