Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 28) – Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 ended on Friday their bid to play in the inaugural Olympic 3×3 basketball competition this July at Tokyo, Japan.
The world no. 24 Philippines suffered a lopsided 11-22 defeat against world no. 37 Dominican Republic in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualification Tournament at Graz, Austria.
Only Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, and Santi Santillan played in the game as big man Moala Tautuaa could not make it in the crucial game due to an injury.
The Dominican Republic 3×3 team dominated the match from the start as the Filipinos failed to get good scoring opportunities from the paint and long distance.
In their final game, Gilas failed to get an upset win as they were outpointed by France in a low-scoring match, 14-15.
The Ronnie Magsanoc-mentored Philippine side also endured heavy losses in their first two games on Wednesday against Qatar (12-21) and Slovenia (11-21).
The Filipinos’ defense worked in the first half of the game but the Le Bleus drained in some long-range shots in the final minutes to pull away with the victory.
