MANILA – The Gilas Pilipinas men’s and women’s 3x3 team’s title defense suffered a stumble in the preliminary round as both dropped several games in their three-game opening day in Vietnam.
Gilas had an easy start when they faced Cambodia, winning it convincingly, 19-7.
They also scored a big win to one of their main challengers Thailand after finishing the match with three minutes left to play, 21-16.
Gilas had to rally back from a five-point deficit in the game.
In their final match of the day, the defending champions bowed to Indonesia via 13-15 loss to cap the first day with a 2-1 win-loss card.
Meanwhile, their women’s counterpart also began their title bid with a major hiccup after dropping two of its three games.
The women’s team had a strong start when they trashed Cambodia, 21-5.
However, they tripped in the second match when they surrendered an 18-21 loss to Vietnam despite mounting a comeback.
Gilas women even held a 16-12 lead before eventually losing the grip of the game.
The 3x3 team, then, suffered another loss at the hands of Thailand, 14-21, for a 1-2 card.
Both Philippine teams are the defending gold medalists of the biennial meet.