Gilas Pilipinas Men 3×3 fell in the quarterfinals after a pair of exciting games in the 3×3 Basketball Tournament of the 19th Asian Games on Saturday in China.

In their first game of the day, Gilas beat Kazakhstan 15-14 to secure a berth in the quarterfinals.

All four players of the team pitched in for a balanced scoring effort. John Rey Pasaol led the team with five points while Bismarck Lina and Justine Sanchez scored four points each. Bryan Sajonia chipped in two points to round out the scoring totals.

It was a tight affair the entire game with both teams trading baskets and leads. The game was tied at 11 with 1:23 left on the clock when Sajonia nailed a clutch free throw to give Gilas the lead. Lina followed that up with a crucial basket to give his team more breathing room with less than a minute left in the game. Kazakhstan tried to get back in the game but Pasaol nailed a dagger with 20 seconds left to secure the win for Gilas.

In the quarterfinals, Gilas could not complete a comeback, losing to South Korea, 19-16, ending their bid for an Asian Games medal.

Pasaol once again led the team in scoring, finishing the game with six points. Sajonia added four while Lina and Sanchez scored three each.

Korea was able to build a lead as big as seven points with less than three minutes left in the game. The Philippines would not go quietly as they went on a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to just three points.

Pasaol scored on back-to-back hits to cut the deficit down to four. Sanchez was able to bring the deficit down further to just three points twice in the final minute of the game. But time wasn’t on Gilas’ side, as they could not complete the comeback before the final buzzer.