GILAS Pilipinas 3x3's quest for a berth in the Tokyo Olympics was left hanging by a thread after a 21-11 defeat at the hands of Slovenia on Wednesday.
The loss left the Filipinos winless after two games as they sunk to the bottom of Pool C in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Graz, Austria.
Gilas 3x3 was unable to stop the rampage of the Slovenians, who notched their first win in the OQT behind red-hot shooting and flawlessly executed plays.
Simon Finzgar caught fire early and buried three deuces to lead the attack for the world No. 3 side with nine points.
It was also Finzgar who delivered the dagger freebie with 2:17 left that sealed the victory.
Anze Srebovt also bullied his way down low with six points while Gaspar Ovnik added six points built on a pair of two-pointers.
Joshua Munzon tried his earnest to carry the Philippines with his seven-point production, but hardly got support from his teammates.
CJ Perez chipped in three points, including one on an open one-handed slam, while Mo Tautuaa scored one in the loss that followed a similarly one-sided 21-12 loss to Qatar in its Graz debut.
Though still mathematically in contention, Gilas 3x3 will need no less than a sweep its remaining assignments on Friday against Dominican Republic (0-2) at 5:50 p.m. and France (2-0) at 7:55 p.m. to have a chance.
The Filipinos will also need nothing short of a miracle to have the results in the other group matches go in their favor.
In the event of a tiebreaker, points scored will be used to determine the teams which will progress to the next phase.
The Philippines currently has a total of 23 points in Pool C, just a nudge ahead of cellar-dweller Dominican Republic which only has 19.
It's a tough task for Gilas 3x3 to accomplish, especially with France earlier stunning Slovenia, 19-17, to seize leadership in the group.
The scores:
SLOVENIA 21 - Finzgar 9, Srebovt 6, Ovnik 6, Kavgic 0.
PHILIPPINES 11 - Munzon 7, Perez 3, Tautuaa 1, Santillan 0.
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