Uratex got off to a rousing start in its Philippine Basketball Association Women’s 3×3 Invitational campaign, winning both its scheduled games in the opener of the revived half-court game at the Ayala Malls Circuit Makati late Monday.
Hotshot Kaye Pingol carried most of the load for the Dream, who beat Angelis Resort and Philippine Air Force one after the other.
She had 12 points in the Dream’s 20-15 win over Angelis in the opening match of the month-long tournament, and then followed it up with an eighth-point production in a 19-16 victory over Air Force to take the early lead in the standings with a 2-0 record.
But Angelis Resort bounced back big time following a 19-17 overtime upset of Gilas-A in the final game of the day.
Veteran Allana Lim rallied her side from three points down in the final 55 seconds including the pressure-packed deuce that forged the extra period at 17-all.
The former national team member out of Far Eastern University then hit all of Angelis’ two points in overtime to clinch the dramatic win before an animated crowd that included Makati City Councilor and long-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines Executive Director Rebo Saguisag.
Lim finished with 11 points and scored six of the team’s last seven points.
It was a heartbreaker of a loss for Gilas-A, which earlier fell to Gilas-B, 16-14, for a 0-2 slate.
Action resumes on Tuesday as Gilas-B tangles with the debuting Philippine Navy-Go For Gold.
The top four teams at the end of the three-leg eliminations will advance to the knockout stage set next month at Ayala Malls Glorietta.
