#SEAGames2019: Gilas Pilipinas secure double podium finish in 3x3

The Philippines has assured themselves of a double podium finish in the maiden edition of the 3x3 Basketball tournament of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games with thrilling semifinal wins against various opposition Monday afternoon at the FilOil FlyingV Centre in San Juan City.

Both its men and women's teams of Gilas Pilipinas Tatluhan leaned on their hometown crowd and never let them down to punch their tickets to the gold medal game later in the day, assuring themselves of their 53rd and 54th medals for the country in Day 2.

In the women's semifinal, Patrick Aquino's ladies channeled their fighting heart after being dealt a crushing overtime loss to Thailand by coming back from four points down to smother Vietnam, 21-12.

Taking the top overall seed by virtue of total points, the Filipinas were caught by Vietnam's smoking start from beyond the arc as the visitors take an 9-5 lead with four shots from the two-point rainbow.

However, Janine Pontejos lead the way with 8 points as they outscored the Indochinese side, 16-3 including the 9-0 run to break the 12-all deadlock, with the former FIBA World Cup shootout queen capped it off with a booming triple to finish the game with 3:12 left in the contest.

Gilas Women will now have their eyes set on revenge against the Thais in the gold medal game, where they came from the backdoor to defeat Malaysia in overtime, 16-14.

Meanwhile, the men of coach Ronnie Magsanoc made a quick work on Thailand, dispatching them 21-11 with Jason Perkins leading once again with 7 points.

The hosts never looked back after starting the game on a 9-2 run, leading by as much as 11 as Mo Tautuaa called game with a booming 2-ball with 35.6 seconds left, delighting the home crowd in their quest for SEA Games glory.

That win continued their streak of winning all games by hitting 21 points before the buzzer.

Gilas Men will later take on Indonesia who fended off Vietnam, 20-18 in the second semifinal thriller.

Photos by SEA GAMES 2019 MEDIA POOL