Teams from Malaysia and Japan rule the men’s and women’s division at the Pilipinas United 3x3 League over the weekend.
Manila bets Half Court Group (HoopJeep) and Uratex Dream both fell short of the ultimate crown in the men’s and women’s finals of the Pilipinas United 3x3 League at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay over the weekend.
Still, Half Court Group first sealed their place in the upcoming FIBA 3x3 Manila Challenger next month as the best local team in the 12-team spread that featured teams from Malaysia, Japan, and Vietnam. However, they ultimately faltered in the championship game against Kuala Lumpur, 21-15.
With the win, Kuala Lumpur booked their place for the Kaohsiung Challenger in October.
The tournament, which was considered a FIBA Lite Quest, dangled a USD 5,000 prize for the men’s champions, while Half Court Group bagged USD 2,500 as runners-up.
Half Court Group was made up of Jordan Bartlett, Chester Saldua, Adeshokan Odou, and Chris De Chavez.
Meanwhile, over in the women’s division, Philippine bet Uratex suffered a narrow loss against Japan’s Maurice Lacroix, 15-13.
Lacroix had first eliminated the Gilas Women U23 3x3 team via buzzer beater from Naoko Honda, 11-9, in the semifinals.
The Dream then couldn’t avenge their compatriots as they settled for second place and a USD 1,500 prize.
Lacroix beat the quartet of Li Renzhu, Yumi Takakuwa, Justine Domingo, and CC Junsay to net the USD 3,000 top prize money for the women’s division.
The two-day event also featured a dunk contest, and a celebrity all-star game with Rendon Labador, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Joel “Malupiton” Ravanera, Kean Baclaan, and league co-founder Andrew Combate.
The competition also saw celebrity entrepreneur David Licauco play competitively with Taho Story A. They reached the quarterfinals in the competition.