The Gilas Pilipinas Men's 3x3 team improved to 2-0 in the 19th Asian Games on Tuesday after a 17-12 triumph over Chinese Taipei at the DQ Basketball Court.
Bryan Sajonia scored six points in the win while JR Pasaol and Justine Sanchez each had four points. Bismarck Lina added three in the victory.
Chinese Taipei was within striking distance, 9-8, off a Lin Sin Kuan two-pointer with still three minutes left. But Pasaol converted back-to-back buckets and Sajonia scored off an offensive rebound for a 12-8 spread with over a minute to go.
Free throws by Lina with 12 seconds on the clock denied Chinese Taipei's chances of making a comeback.
The Philippines now has the lead in Pool A; they opened their campaign with a 13-8 win over Jordan on Monday.
The winner of the four groups will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the second- and third-placed teams will play cross-pool games to determine the rest of the cast for the last eight.
Gilas 3x3 will play Hong Kong tomorrow, still at the same venue in Hangzhou, China.
Meanwhile, the Philippine softball team is off to a strong start, crushing Thailand 11-0 in just four innings also on Tuesday at the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Culture Center.
Skylynne Ellazar went 2-of-3 at bat with two runs and two RBIs, while Nicole Hammoude was 3-of-3 with two runs and two RBIs.
Thailand had just two hits from 14 at-bats.
The Philippines will play China on Wednesday and South Korea on Thursday, hoping to secure a top-two spot in Group A that will qualify them to the Super Round.