Gilas Pilipinas Men are through to the quarterfinals of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026—but they know they left something on the table.
The Philippine squad of Chris Koon, Ralph Cu, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Sean Alter went 1–1 in the main draw on Saturday at OCBC Square in Singapore, falling to world No. 10 Mongolia 21–19 before bouncing back with a 21–13 win over Chinese-Taipei to book their spot in the knockout round.
Gilas Pilipinas Men Drop Heartbreaker to Mongolia
The Mongolia game was the one that got away. Gilas jumped out to a 12–5 lead behind Cu, but the Mongolians—seasoned World Tour veterans—refused to fold. Chinkhutag Munkh-Ulzii drained back-to-back deuces to turn the game around, giving Mongolia a 19–18 edge with 3:11 remaining. Koon tied it, but Ganbaatar Nyamdorj pushed the Mongolians to match point with 2:34 left. Ahanmisi and Cu each had clean looks from deep that could have sealed it. Neither connected. Nyamdorj powered through the paint for the decisive hook shot with two minutes left, and Mongolia had the win—and Pool A’s top seed.
Gilas Pilipinas Men Bounce Back with Win vs. Chinese Taipei
Smarting from that close loss, Gilas responded the way they needed to against Chinese-Taipei. Ahanmisi took over, finishing with 11 points including four deuces as the Philippines led 15–8 at the midway point and never looked back. Cu converted multiple baskets to push Gilas to match point before Ahanmisi cleaned up the final miss to seal the game with exactly 2:01 remaining. Cu finished with 3 points and 6 rebounds, while Koon added 5 points and 3 boards.
How Gilas Pilipinas Men Got Here
It is worth remembering how Gilas even got here. Before the main draw, they had to battle through the qualifying round, edging past Maldives 21–16 and surviving a tense 17–15 win over reigning Southeast Asian Games 3×3 champion Thailand. Neither win was comfortable, and the decision-making issues that surfaced in those games—particularly against Thailand—will need to be cleaned up before Sunday.
Because what comes next is a significant step up. Gilas will face Pool C top seed South Korea in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 4:35 p.m. The margin for error against Mongolia was thin. Against South Korea, it figures to be even thinner.
