BANGKOK — Gilas Pilipinas rolled past Laos, 21-10, to sweep pool play of the men’s 3×3 basketball competitions at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday here.
The team of Ange Kouame, Joseph Eriobu, Joseph Sedurifa and Janrey Pasaol topped Pool B with a 3-0 record and will face Singapore later in the day at Nimibutr Stadium.
Singapore eliminated Indonesia, 20-18, to finish second in Pool A with a 2-1 record.
Host Thailand emerged as Pool A winner at 3-0 and is going to face Malaysia in the other semis.
The gold medal match will also be played Thursday evening, with Gilas hoping to win it all for the first time since the inaugural event back home in 2019.
Team Philippines settled for bronze at the 2021 Games in Hanoi before claiming a silver after losing to host Cambodia in the final two years ago.
Meanwhile, the Gilas 5-on-5 team arrived in this capital on Thursday ahead of its title defense which starts this weekend.
Coach Norman Black’s wards will open their campaign on Sunday against Malaysia at the same venue.
Their women’s counterparts were also part of the contingent, with its bid to regain the gold to start on Saturday, also against Malaysia.
