MANILA, Philippines — Manila West got its hands full en route to a 21-12 loss to Kranj of Slovenia in the quarterfinals of the Fiba 3×3 World Tour Finals Sunday at the Xebio Sports Arena in Sendai, Japan.
The bigger Slovenians, seeded third in the tournament, proved too experienced for the Manila squad, composed of KG Canaleta, Terrence Romeo, Rey Guevarra and Aldrech Ramos, down the stretch.
The Filipinos were still in the thick of things with the Meralco Bolts forward Guevarra leading the charge that pulled Manila West to within two, 14-12.
But the PH team ran out of steam and was held scoreless in the final five minutes.
“They’re big and heavy,” said Canaleta, now with the NLEX Road Warriors, in Filipino.
Dario Krejic burned Manila West as he accounted for six of Kranj’s last eight points.
“Their movement’s different. It’s really fit for 3-on-3,” Guevarra noticed. “They really came prepared.”
“It was a learning experience for all of us,” said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios.
Kranj went on to get blown out by top seed Novi Sad of Serbia, which went on to win the tournament and earn a ticket to the Fiba 3×3 All-Stars in Doha, Qatar in December after outclassing Saskatoon of Canada in the final. The Serbians also bagged $20,000.
In the side events, Romeo lost in a shootout to Novi Sad’s Dejan Majstorovic while Rafal Lipinski channeled his inner Blake Griffin, one of the best dunkers in the NBA today, and threw down a tomahawk dunk over a parked car in front of the basket and a man standing to rule the Slam Dunk Contest.