THE Manila Chooks TM 3×3 squad left the country yesterday for Canada for the 2021 FIBA 3×3 Montreal Masters.
Made up of PBA veteran Mark Yee and former pro Mac Tallo, along with Zachary Huang, Dennis Santos, and alternate player Chico Lanete, the entire delegation has tested negative in their RT-PCR tests.
The team arrived in Tokyo, Japan last night. After an almost two-hour layover, the team will depart for Vancouver at 9:55 p.m.
Eight hours and 55 minutes will be the flight from Tokyo to Vancouver. Once they set foot in Vancouver at 4:50 p.m. today, the team will hop on another plane, this time for Montreal.
Once the team arrives in Montreal, another round of testing will take place, while the squad will be isolated at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.
The team will be allowed to train at the half-court of Montreal once cleared.
Yee is excited for his first FIBA 3×3 international pro circuit event.
“Sobrang blessed. Hindi naman natin maitatago na may edad na tayo para maimbitahan tayo sa ganito kalaking tournament,” Yee said.
“Talagang, kumbaga, lagi ko lang iniisip na sobrang blessed talaga. Sa pagkakataon na ito, hindi ko naisip na mare-represent ko pa iyong bansa natin sa FIBA sa tanda ko na ito,” he added.
Tough though will be the opposition of Manila Chooks TM in the max level tournament that will gain precious points for the country in its quest to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Manila Chooks TM is grouped in Pool D along with world No. 8 Antwerp of Belgium and No. 10 Edmonton of Canada. The team battles Antwerp on Sept. 5 at 12:45 a.m. (Manila time) and Edmonton at 6:50 a.m. on the same day.
