MANILA, Philippines — Cebu Chooks held its ground but still fell short at the hands of powerhouse Ub from Serbia, absorbing a 21-17 defeat in Day 1 of the 2022 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters yesterday at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
The Philippine team went toe-to-toe with the world No. 1 3x3 club and even snatched a 14-12 cushion in the last three minutes off a Mac Tallo jumper before running out of steam down the wire.
Tallo, the country’s top 3x3 cager, dazzled with 11 points while Mike Harry Nzeusseu added five in Cebu’s gallant performance in Pool A.
Manila Chooks, the other local club, also fell on the opening day of the FIBA 3x3 Level 10 event with a 22-11 loss against Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy in Pool D.
Henry Iloka and Dennis Santos posted five and four markers, respectively.
Cebu Chooks and Manila Chooks were to shoot for must-win games against Zavkhan MMC Energy and Zaisan MMC Energy of Mongolia, respectively, last night to stay in playoff contention.
The Manila Masters, making its return after seven years, is the second stop of the 13-leg FIBA 3x3 World Tour that will also troop to Cebu in October and Abu Dhabi for the finale in December.
Meanwhile, Ub (2-0) completed a sweep of Pool A with a 22-13 win over Zavkhan to advance to the knockout quarterfinals after fending off Cebu Chooks earlier.
Ub, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, ruled the FIBA 3x3 World Tour opening leg in Utsunomiya, Japan last week.