The Philippines, led by promising RJ Abarrientos, settled for a ninth-place finish in the 2018 FIBA 3×3 U-23 World Cup in Xi’An, China
Abarrientos, nephew of retired Philippine Basketball Association cager Johnny Abarrientos, showed the way for the 19th-ranked Team Pilipinas when it upset third seed China, 21-15, to finish their campaign in Group C with two wins and two losses.
China still advanced to the quarterfinals with Slovenia after finishing with similar 3-1 win-loss records in their bracket.
The 18-year-old Abarrientos made 10 points, while Ricci Rivero contributed seven for the Filipinos, who handed the Chinese their first of two losses in the tournament.
The Filipinos earlier took down no. 14 Turkmenistan, 21-8, for their first triumph.
The 5’11” Abarrientos later took home the gold medal in the shootout contest, hitting 9 points in the final round.
Russia’s Aleksandr Antonikovskii and Germany’s Laura Zdravevska settled for the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Russia went on two sweep the titles in both the men and women’s categories, coming up with immaculate 7-0 slates.
The Russian men’s squad stood its ground against Latvia, 21-18, with 22-year-old star Alexander Zuev leading with a game-high 13 points.
The Russian ladies won over China, 21-12.
