RJ Abarrientos sizzled for the Philippines as it stayed alive in the 2018 Fiba 3x3 Under-23 World Cup, clipping Turkmenistan, 21-8, Friday at Xi'an, China.
The win kept the Filipinos' slim hopes of advancing to the playoff round in play as they improved to a 1-2 record in Pool C.
Abarrientos, the speedy guard from FEU-Diliman caught fire and helped the Philippines humble the 14-seed Turkmenistan side as he delivered a show, most notably an acrobatic lay-up followed with a booming corner long bomb that gave the Filipinos a 17-7 advantage with a little over two minutes left to play.
Ricci Rivero also laid out the finishing touches, scoring three of the Philippines' last four points as he calmly sank two freebies with 51.3 seconds to spare.
Rhayyan Amsali added four points, as Jeepy Faundo got three in the win.
The Philippines tries to score another upset and earn a playoff ticket when it meets group leader and host China at 8:40 p.m.
Merdan Hojamedov led Turkmenistan with five points as his side fell to 1-2.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 21 -- Abarrientos 8, Rivero 6, Amsali 4, Faundo 3.
TURKMENISTAN 8 -- Hojamedov 5, Bekchanov 2, Mammetmyradov 1, Nuryyev 0.
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