Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
BOCAUE, Bulacan—The Philippines bowed out of the competition after suffering a heartbreaking 21-17 loss to Spain in the group stages of the women’s Fiba 3×3 World Cup Sunday at Philippine Arena.
Perlas was sent to an early exit after dropping to a 0-3 record in Pool D.
Spain, meanwhile, tallied a perfect 3-0 record to stay atop the group.
Janine Pontejos caught fire for the Philippines hitting five two-pointers en route to a game-high 13 points but the Spaniards managed to weather the storm midway through the game.
Spain went on an 8-1 run that started after Jack Daniel Animam got called with a technical foul after getting entangled with Spain’s Paula Palomares who hit the free throw for the 11-11 tie.
Vega Gimeno Martinez then bullied her way to the basket for the 16-12 lead before Nuria Martinez Prat sunk two free throws for the 18-12 buffer.
Pontejos was able to hit two three-pointers late in the game to trim the Spaniards’ lead to three, 20-17, but Martinez found the cutting Paula Palomares for the game-ending layup.
“I know Spain had a hard time today and I was hoping that maybe we could’ve made the game closer,” said Perlas head coach Pat Aquino. “Again, experience-wise we’re still lacking. There were just calls that were called ever so lightly especially in the end.”
“And we know that we can compete and that’s one thing that can uplift the morale of the team that they know they can play well against these teams. We just need more experience.”
Palomares had 11 points, including six from long range, to lead Spain while Prat and Mediavilla had four points apiece with Martinez pitching in two.
Gemma Miranda had three points to complement Pontejos’ shooting while Afril Bernardino had one.
In the previous games, Hungary gained the second spot with a 2-1 record in Pool D after scoring a 16-13 win over Germany, which fell to 1-3.
China reigned supreme in Pool B with an undefeated 4-0 slate to take the top spot in the group after crushing Argentina, 22-4, and taking down Kazakhstan, 15-13, on Sunday.
The Chinese advanced to the quarterfinals with fellow Pool B member France.
The French had two wins on Sunday against Kazakhstan, 21-10, and Switzerland, 21-16, to get to a 3-1 card.