BOCAUE, Bulacan—The finish may not have been world-class. But the skill? Definitely there.
Perlas Pilipinas sharpshooter Janine Pontejos showed the country belongs on basketball’s world stage when she ruled the Shootout side event of the Fiba 3×3 World Cup Shootout on Tuesday at Philippine Arena.
Cheered on by a sizeable crowd, the Centro Escolar University standout did not disappoint—besting the tournament’s best in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Pontejos, who nailed five triples in a loss to Spain early in the competition, continued to sizzle, scoring 14 points in an incredible performance highlighted by eight straight makes.
“The support has been incredible,” said Pontejos in Filipino. “We did not win any game in the tournament so I was really motivated. I wanted to show that we Filipinos will continue to fight even though we’re always the underdogs.”
Pontejos actually finished with the same output as Russia’s Alexandra Stolyar with 14 points, but the Filipina had the better time finishing her run in 41.86 seconds, close to eight seconds faster than her Russian rival.
Croatia’s top gunner Marin Hrvoje was the best men’s finisher as he wound up with the bronze after scoring 11 points. Maksim Dybivskii of Russia missed out on a podium finish with eight points.