THE Philippines defeated Israel, 19-17, on Wednesday at the start of the Fiba Under-18 3x3 World Cup in Chengdu, China.
Juan Gomez de Liano, AJ Edu, and Encho Serrano went on a late 8-3 run to steal the win from Israel in Pool A.
With the Philippines down 14-15, Gomez de Liano hit a two-pointer before throwing a lob pass to Edu to for a lay-up that gave the Filipinos a 16-15 lead.
Serrano, the smallest member of the Philippine squad at 5-11, also grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a putback for a three-point cushion, 18-15.
Israel hit a two-pointer to pull to within a point, but Edu converted a basket inside before forcing a steal.
The Philippines next face top-seed Netherlands in pool action on Wednesday night.
Israel won its first match, 17-11, against Poland.
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