Uratex Dream finishes among top 8 teams in Red Bull Half Court World Final

Uratex Dream 3x3, composed of Kaye Pingol, Mikka Cacho, Sam Harada, and Blanche Bahuyan, finished among the top eight teams in the Red Bull Half Court World Final held last weekend in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Philippine 3x3 team fell to Australia, 9-5, in the quarterfinals, early Sunday morning (Manila time).

Prior to this, the women's team lost to eventual champion Egypt, 17-8, then registered a wins against Italy (7-6), Kuwait (21-7), and Sri Lanka (18-7) to finish second in Group A and advance to the knockout phase.

Pingol said they did everything that they can in their campaign.

"Happy kami na naipakita namin na kaya naming makipagsabayan dito. Lumaban kami hanggang dulo,” she said in a statement.

(We're happy that we showed we are at par with the other teams. We fought until the end.)

Team owner Peachy Medina, meanwhile, said seeing the competition in the tournament motivated her to dream more for women's basketball in the country.

“Seeing the level of the other teams makes us aspire more for women's basketball in the Philippines. We’d like to reach that level and we hope that our girls, with this incredible experience tucked under their belt, would do their share in helping achieve that,” Medina said in a statement.

On the other hand, TNT Triple Giga, the men's representative, finished their campaign in the Round of 16 after falling to Dominican Republic, 18-17.

Before this, TNT lost to Italy, 14-13, then won over Kenya, 10-9, and North Macedonia, 17-16, to finish second in their group.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News