ABU DHABI - Calvin Abueva and Manila North beat Doha of Qatar in a do-or-die game, 16-14, to reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 Fiba 3x3 World Tour on Friday morning.
Manila North was left on the brink of elimination after an opening 17-21 loss to Kranj of Slovenia, but 'The Beast' came to the team's rescue before a big crowd at the Corniche made up largely of Filipino workers.
Abueva scored seven points in the win against fancied Doha that forced a three-way tie at 1-1 (win-loss) among the three teams in Pool D. Kranj, which lost to Doha, and Manila North advanced to the quarterfinals under the quotient system.
However, the road doesn't get any easier for Abueva and Co. who will meet a familiar foe in UAE’s NoviSad AlWahda, the same team that beat the Filipinos in the final of the Manila Masters last August.
The match is set on Saturday morning (12:15 a.m., Manila time).
Abueva now has 16 points in two games, good for joint second place in the tournament scoring ladder. Dusan Domovic Bulut of Novi Sad led the field with 20 points.
Vic Manuel so far has eight points, Troy Rosario seven, and Karl Dehesa two.
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