The women’s team from the Republic of Korea secured their spot in the Main Draw of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday (26 March). The Koreans beat Bahrain and Malaysia on the opening day of the tournament at the OCBC Square and will join China and New Zealand in Group A of the Main Draw, which begins on 28 March.

The Philippines (men) and Vietnam (women) also achieved perfect records on Day 1 of the Qualifying Draw at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025.

TEAMS

THE PHILIPPINES (men)
The men from the Philippines showed out in spectacular fashion on Day 1. They faced off against Macau in their opener, coming away with a 21-12 victory. Joseph Sedurifa put up 10 points while Jeffrey Manday added 8 in the winning effort. They then went up against the Republic of Korea in what was the game of the day. A back-and-forth highlight reel that showcased the tenacity and versatility of both sides. However, it was the Philippines who triumphed eventually. Manday had himself an offensive outburst. He scored 12 points in what would be a crucial result in their chances of heading to the pool stage. The Filipinos will face off against India tomorrow, both unbeaten, both vying for a spot in pool B. Other teams to go unbeaten on the day were Iran, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Hong Kong, China.

Says Jeffrey Manday, The Philippines Men’s Team: “It feels really good now. We’re moving to our next matches tomorrow but we have to fix our defence and offence. Today, we executed our coach’s plays well and we worked very hard offensively and defensively. We were also able to stay composed throughout the match. For our match against India tomorrow, there won’t be any easy two-points and we’re kind of the underdogs because they’re very tall. But we just have to be prepared for all possibilities.”

VIETNAM (women)
Vietnam, led by twin sisters Truong Thao My Truong and Truong Thao Vy, dominated in the pool phase. They battled against Iran in a blockbuster clash, with both teams on top form. There was no match for the Truong twins though, who notched a combined 18 points for a 19-16 win. They swept past the Maldives in their second game of the day, with Thao My scoring 8 and Zhang Thu Bui scoring 7 in a 21-7 victory. They will next face Kazakhstan who will be looking to bounce back after a 21-6 loss to Iran. Other teams to go unbeaten were Republic of Korea who secured their Main Draw spot, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Macau and Hong Kong, China.

Says Truong Thao My, Vietnam Women’s Team: “I feel great, I’m just grateful for this experience and that we get an opportunity to play on a really big stage against really great opponents. Our performance today was great. There’s lots to continue improving, but I’m happy with the way we’re playing. Our chemistry has been at a good place and it translates well on court, so we’re just looking to continue getting better. For tomorrow, we’re just going to focus on getting ready physically and mentally. We played two games today so we have to get our bodies ready and get some rest, then prepare mentally and make a game plan. Before the tournament, it was tough for us to prepare together so a huge component of it was being mentally prepared to play multiple games in one day because you know how taxing it is. This is my first time at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup and first time playing with my sister (Truong Thao Vy). It’s really great playing with her and she’s my best friend. We spent our rookie year separately, so now that we’ve come back together, I have a little more gratitude.”

PLAYERS
HARSH DAGAR (India)

The 20-year-old Indian star was unstoppable in tonight’s QD action. India went 2-0 on the day, much thanks to the offensive exploits of Dagar. He started off with a whopping 12 points against the Republic of Korea, catching fire from deep with 4 two-pointers. He continued that momentum into their second game against Macau where he went off for another 12 points, this time making 5 from behind the arc. India will face off against the Philippines to lock in their spot in the Main Draw, and they’ll need the firepower of Dagar to push them through.

Says Harsh:“These two wins were really needed for Indian basketball because last year we lost to Korea by a very close margin, so we came prepared this time and it feels great to get two wins today. But this is not what we want, we are looking forward to winning some medals here. We actually practised for one day only because we had another tournament before this so we came here with just one practice session together. But three of us were playing that tournament together, so we just converted from the 5-on-5 to 3-on-3 format. This is basketball, we just need to make shots and we’re doing it. It’s also about the chemistry, the four of us have really great chemistry and I hope it continues. We’re playing pretty well, we just need to work on getting more rebounds.”

LEE DA-YEON (Republic of Korea)
The Republic of Korea cemented their spot in the Main Draw with a 2-0 record on Day 1, and star Lee Dayeon was huge in making that happen. She put up a team-high 10 points in their decisive 21-5 victory over Bahrain. She then added 11 points more to her already impressive tally as she ran rampant in their 21-10 win over Malaysia. Her efficiency and physicality made her incredibly difficult to stop for the opposition. She will look to continue showing that in the Main Draw.

Said Lee: “I’m feeling so good. The feeling is so great that there’s no words that could describe how I’m feeling right now. Honestly at the start, we were playing neck to neck. There was a gap in the score but we were in a bit of a crisis as the opponents eventually caught up two points behind us. At that moment, as the eldest I stepped up and thought that I should be the one to attack more.”

Says Lam Chun Tat, Hong Kong Men’s Team :“I’m really happy and excited because we won both our matches today. We did pretty okay today, we followed our coach’s instructions and carried out our defence strategy well. But for tomorrow, we have to improve on our box-out rebounds if we want to win and make it to the Main Draw. Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking of anything when I attempted the last shot, I’m just happy that we got the win.”

Says Frederick Lish, Thailand Men’s Team: “We feel good as a team. We had a game plan that we went into the game with, and we executed it. We brought a lot more energy after the first 2-3 minutes, so I feel like we did a good job. In our first game, we were still figuring out the right movements we needed. In the second game, we just needed to play with more energy. We have a big enough team where we can play inside out so I feel like our performance was pretty good. We’re getting better and better. We still have to improve on our communication with each other and being just a little bit more patient on offence. We face Vietnam tomorrow and we respect them, but we came out here with one job, and that is to get to the Main Draw and then try to go from there. So hopefully, they’re ready. We’re going to play hard and it’s going to be a good game.”

FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 runs from 26th to 30th March 2025. Tickets are priced from $5 (excluding booking fee) and are available now. Secure your spot here.