Manila West loses to Kranj in FIBA 3×3

SENDAI, Japan – Kranj of Slovenia proved too experienced for Manila West Sunday, October 12, as they held the Filipinos without a basket in the last 5 minutes to advance to the semifinals of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Finals at the Xebio Sports Arena.

Seeded third in the tournament, the Slovenians displayed a decisive familiarity with the demands of the fledgling FIBA event as they took control when the Filipinos began fading defensively in the final half of the match.

Kranj swept Pool C to draw Manila West, the No. 2 team from Pool B, as a quarterfinal opponent.

The quartet of KG Canaleta, Aldrech Ramos, Rey Guevarra and Terrence Romeo failed to score in the final 5:13 of play that negated their effort to claw back at 14-12 after trailing, 11-6.

Meralco Bolts forward Guevarra came off the bench to score 6 straight points with two long two-pointers to put pressure on Kranj.

But Manila West, which beat Sao Paolo in its first game, fizzled out after the athletic forward’s efforts.

A step slow on defense against an aggressive team clearly attuned to the nuances of the international 3×3 game, No. 10 Manila West, which lost to No. 2 Bucharest Saturday, 15-13, also found trouble managing the 10-second shot clock and getting off shots against the taller and heavier Slovenians.

“Ang laki na, ang bibigat pa,” said Canaleta, now with the NLEX Road Warriors, as he got tossed around under the basket by 6-foot-8 Jure Erzen and 6-foot-5 Mensud Julevic when he was not sprinting to put a hand on hotshot Dario Krejic who accounted for 6 of Kranj’s last 8 points.

(The Slovenians are tall and heavy)

“Ang lalakas pang mangapit,” said Romeo, who tied the score, 3-all, and put Manila West in the thick of the fight, 6-5 and 8-6, before the Slovenians took advantage of two defensive lapses by the Filipinos to score 3 quick points and open up an 11-6 advantage.

(They have firm grips)

“Iba rin yung galaw nila, pang 3-on-3 talaga; alam mong ensayado sila ng husto,” said Guevarra.

(They move really well, definitely designed for the 3-on-3; you can tell they practiced hard)

“It was a learning experience for all of us,” said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, head of the Philippine team which included Under-18 players Dino San Juan of La Salle-Greenhills and JP Cauilan and Chino Mosqueda of National University who played a number of 3×3 matches with different Japanese teams as part of FIBA’s 3×3 program.

“SBP intends to expand FIBA’s 3×3 involvement in our grassroots program and we hope to use the World Tour as springboard,” Barrios added.

Bucharest went on to whip No. 9 Jakarta, 21-8, to move to the semifinal round along with No. 1 seed Novi Sad of Serbia, which survived a virtual rugby match with No. 4 Trbovlje of Slovenia, 15-13, and No. 5 Saskatoon of Canada, which demolished Denver, 21-3.

The FIBA 3×3 World Tour champion team brings home $20,000 and a ticket to the FIBA 3×3 All-Stars. The runner-up will get $5,000.

In the individual sidelights, the slam dunk champion will take home $2,000, while the second and third placer will get $500 each. A Samsung tablet goes to the shootout winner. – Rappler.com