Gilas 3x3 guys, gals roar, soar
The Gilas men and women stamped their class and swept their Day One assignments in the 30th SEA Games 3x3 basketball at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The quartet of CJ Perez, Jason Perkins, Chris Newsome and Moala Tautuaa struggled before escaping past a gritty Indonesia side, 21-17.
Picking up from there, Gilas crushed Myanmar, 21-10; rolled past Vietnam, 21-15; and demolished Thailand, 21-10.
The Gilas women started their campaign on a high note, pulling of a 21-4 crushing of Myanmar with Claire Castro leading the way with seven points and Afril Bernardino logging in five markers.
Afterwards, the Phl cagebelles leaned on their defensive mindset to survive a very inspired Malaysian squad, 15-13.
Jack Danielle Aninam was a monster inside the shaded area but it was Janine Pontejos who delivered big in the clutch.
The 2018 World Cup two-point shootout champion tallied two critical points in the dying moments of the game to seal the win.
Back on the floor a little later, the Gilas belles warded off their Indon counterparts to make it 3-of-3 in the first of two-day 3x3 competitions.