TERRENCE Romeo of Manila West fakes off Auckland’s Anamata Paura Haku during their Fiba World Tour 3×3 quarterfinal duel.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is going to the finals of the Fiba 3×3 World Tour.
Manila West, beefed up by PBA players Terrence Romeo, KG Canaleta, Aldrech Ramos and Rey Guevarra, hurdled top-seeded Doha, 21-17, behind a strong finish to seize the Fiba 3×3 Manila Masters championship Sunday at Fashion Mall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong.
Romeo and Ramos exploded long-range bombs in the last 40 seconds as the Filipinos overcame a two-point deficit late in the game and advanced to the world championship set in Tokyo on Oct. 11 and 12.
The Doha squad was bannered by Yaseen Musa and Mohammad Saleem Abdulla, who were part of the Qatar team that won the 2014 Fiba 3×3 World Championship in Moscow last month.
“Our performance here proved that we’re good at any form of basketball, so I’m glad that we’re one of the two teams that will go to Tokyo,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan.
“I did expect them to be in the finals. I even thought we will have two, but one should be good enough,” added Pangilinan during the event presented by Smart and supported by Samsung and Nike.
Manila West survived the quarterfinals after downing Auckland, 14-9, behind the timely sniping of Romeo and Canaleta. They also defeated Jakarta, 18-14, in the knockout semifinals on the way to the finals.
Manila North, the other PBA-powered team made up of Calvin Abueva, Vic Manuel and Jake Pascual, ended its stint with a thud.
The Abueva-led squad came crashing down against Doha, which demolished the Filipinos, 21-8, and settled the issue with still 3:04 to go in the 10-minute match.
Also missing the trip to the semis were Manila East composed of Ateneo’s Jerie Pingoy, Daryl Henderson, John Wong and Ousseynou Gueye, and Manila South’s Naga City Titans.
Surabaya edged the national champion Titans led by Joshua Ayo, Don Nismal and Raphael De Vera, 21-20, on Ronnie Gunawan’s 12-footer in the dying seconds.
Jakarta also sealed a semis berth with a 15-11 victory over the Ateneans.