BOCAUE — One win is better than nothing, and that’s exactly the silver lining the Philippine men’s 3x3 team is looking at after Day Two of the 2018 Fiba 3x3 World Cup on Saturday.
“At least, naka-isa kami. May chance pa kami sa Monday. Kung dalawang talo ang nakuha namin, wala na yung chance talaga,” said Roger Pogoy after the hosts settled for a 1-1 split after their first day of action.
Seeded 19th in a field of 20 teams, the Philippines came with little to no expectations but got every reason to suddenly be optimistic after a 15-7 win over sixth-seed Brazil.
The hosts were sent crashing back to earth by a 21-17 defeat to Magnolia, but Pogoy believes a couple of breaks here and there and the Philippines would've been sitting at joint first with Canada in Pool C.
“Sayang nga 'yung Mongolia eh. Kaso pumapasok din yung mga two points nila,” the TNT star said.
Rather than mope over the loss, Pogoy is taking the Mongolia defeat as a building block ahead of the Philippines’ monumental clashes against Canada and Russia on Monday.
For one, the Filipinos can learn the value of staying away from fouls despite the physical nature of the 3x3 game.
“Kailangang mag-ingat kami sa fouls kasi pag ma-penalty ka, ang hirap,” said Pogoy after the Philippines committed eight fouls in the game, two of which were unsportsmanlike in nature.
“Natuto din kami na mas physical talaga ang 3-on-3 kaysa sa 5-on-5.”
Team Philippines is plotting a better attack come Monday.
“May chance pa naman talaga kami kasi bilog naman ang bola,” Pogoy said. “Kahit malalaki sila, kung papasok naman yung outside natin, ok tayo.
"Si (Stanley) Pringle naman kayang iwanan ang lahat. Sana maganda ang shooting natin sa Lunes kasi importante ang shooting para sa amin.”