HOME bet Manila Chooks! ran out of steam in the clutch against Utsunomiya BREX EXE, 22-18, to bow out of contention in 2023 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters over the weekend at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.
The local ball club erased an early deficit with a staggering 9-3 rally to steal the driver seat at 14-12 only to fall short to the steady closeout of the Japanese visitors.
Manila Chooks! finished at 0-2 in Pool A for a foiled playoff bid in front of home fans after also suffering a 21-9 loss against world No. 1 Ub Huishan NE of Serbia.
Mac Tallo, the country’s top 3×3 player, and Sierra Leonean anchor Tosh Sesay led Manila’s galland stand with Dennis Santos and Paul Desiderio chipping in solid support.
Manila Chooks! and Cebu Chooks as the country’s bets made it to the quarterfinals last year in the Manila Masters, which was won by Ub.
Making it to the quarterfinals were Utsunomiya , Ub Huishan NE of Serbia, Riga of Latvia, San Juan of Puerto Rico, Amsterdam HiPRO of the Netherlands, Futian and Beijing of China, and Sansar MMC Energy of Mongolia. — John Bryan Ulanday
