View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GilasPilipinasWomen (@gilaspilipinas_women)

The Philippine women's 3x3 basketball team is progressing to the semifinals after ousting Thailand in pool play, Saturday afternoon at the Elephant Hall 2 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A 14-8 win over Thailand gave the Gilas Pilipinas Women a 2-1 record in Group A of the 3x3 competition of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, good enough to send them to the medal round set for Sunday.

They opened their campaign with a heartbreaking 19-21 loss to Vietnam, last year's silver medalist. Jack Animam -- making her return to national team duties after recovering from a knee injury -- sent the game to sudden death overtime with an undergoal stab.

But Ngoan Thi Huynh knocked down the game-winning deuce in overtime to give Vietnam the early lead in the group.

The Gilas Women recovered in smashing fashion, as they crushed Laos, 21-6, in their second game. That set up a must-win game against defending gold medalist Thailand, who also split their assignments against Laos (21-4) and Vietnam (13-16).

The Filipinas came away with a 14-8 win, with veteran Afril Bernardino hitting big buckets inside to help them maintain control.

Also part of the team are sharpshooter Janine Pontejos and Mikka Cacho.

The Gilas Women will play Cambodia in the semifinals after the host nation won all three of their games to take the top seed in Group B. Vietnam, meanwhile, takes on Indonesia (2-1) in the other semifinal match.

The Gilas Women are seeking to return to the podium after not winning a medal last year in Hanoi. They ruled the inaugural edition of the 3x3 tournament in 2019 in Manila.

For more stories on the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, click here.