CEBU Chooks! will try to get back on track when it flies to Taiwan Friday for the FIBA 3×3 Tainan City Challenger set Saturday and Sunday at the Siraya Square in Tainan City Hall.
Cebu Chooks! dropped both its games in the group stage and failed to make the knockout round in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters last October 1 and 2.
This time around, a roster made up of the country’s top player and world No. 81 Mac Tallo, Brandon Ramirez and Mike Harry Nzeusseu will be joined by former Ateneo captain Vince Tolentino in the tournament where the two finalists earn tickets to the Hongkong Masters scheduled on November 26 and 27.
The Chico Lanete-coached Cebu Chooks! is seeded ninth in the main draw of the Tainan City Challenger.
“Bounce back, that’s the marching order to us by our team owner Ronald Mascariñas,” Lanete said. “We’re in the tailend of the 2022 season so we need to finish strong.”
Lanete added: “Hopefully, Vince can bring to the team what we lacked in the Cebu Masters, which is the hustle plays and the outside shooting.” World No. 1 UB of Serbia—which boasts of Strahinja “Dr.Strange” Stojacic and world No. 3 Dejan Majstorovic—is the favorite in Taiwan.
Also competing is world No. 4 Antwerp of Belgium which will field the same players who placed second in the Cebu Masters, including world No. 5 Thibaut Vervoort and No. 9 Nick Celisth.
Three other teams which joined the Cebu Masters will also be in Taipei—world No. 8 Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia, No. 23 Utsunomiya Brex of Japan and No. 12 Jeddah of Saudi Arabia.
The other title contenders are world No. 6 Sakiai of Lithuania, No. 10 Belgrade of Serbia and World Tour Manila Masters quarterfinalist Warsaw of Poland.