Gilas Pilipinas Men in action in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 3x3 basketball tournament. Photo courtesy of Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Media Pool.
(UPDATED) Gilas Pilipinas Men swept its assignments in Pool A of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after taking down Kazakhstan, 21-15, on Wednesday at the Kinjo Futo Station Square Venue in Japan.
Nic Cabañero starred with seven points, three rebounds, and an assist as the Philippines advanced to the quarterfinals as the top seed with three wins in as many outings.
Andrei Dungo added six points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Luis Pablo and Koji Buenaflor chipped in five and three points, respectively, for the Philippines, which will face Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
"Nandito na, ready na," said head coach Patrick Fran as they prepare for their match against the Taiwanese on Thursday.
There, they will hope to avoid the slow start they had against Kazakhstan, where they trailed 1-4.
Fortunately, Gilas quickly regained control behind a putback from Buenaflor, who had earlier highlighted the run with a two-handed slam, and a timely two-pointer from Cabañero to build a 13-9 lead.
Although Kazakhstan pulled within one at 13-12 following a basket by Artur Junussov, Pablo and Dungo helped Gilas respond with a key 8-3 closing run to seal the win.
Timur Tangiyev finished with six points and eight rebounds for Kazakhstan, which absorbed its second loss in three outings.
Mansur Seilkhanov added four points, while Artur Junussov and Alizhan Ydyryszhan scored three and two points, respectively.