DESPITE splitting their two games of the Fiba 3x3 World Cup, Stanley Pringle still likes the Philippines' chances of advancing to the next round.
The Filipinos made a good account of themselves on the first day, going 1-1 with a win over Brazil in the afternoon before bowing to Asian Cup champions Mongolia in the evening.
Pringle expressed confidence about their chances in the games against unbeaten Canada and third seed Russia on Monday.
“I felt that we could have won both games,” Pringle said. “We got one. That’s the first time we played 3-on-3. We will try to get back harder.”
Against Mongolia, Troy Rosario and RR Pogoy were slapped with unsportsmanlike fouls that led to free throws plus ball possession. Still, Pringle said the Philippine squad played well against the Asian Cup champions.
“We played hard. We played as a team. I thought we played pretty good defense. We gave up two intentional fouls but I think we played good defense for the most part,” said Pringle.
“It’s a learning experience. We give credit to Mongolia. They have been playing for a while. At the same time, we felt we could have won the game. We gave them two intentional fouls, and 1, and the ball back twice I believe,” said Pringle.
Pringle said the Filipinos can match up physically against the Russians and Canadians.
“We were so ready for it that we overprepared for it. I felt like playing in the PBA is more physical sometimes… Coach Ronnie prepared us well. We executed our plays and we attacked them,” said Pringle.