CEBU Chooks! showed why it is the top 3×3 team in the country last Sunday night.
Pushed against the ropes by hard-fighting Manila Chooks, Cebu eked out a 20-18 decision to bag the title in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Quest 2.0 at the Ayala Malls Solenad in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Mac Tallo fired nine points, including two straight two-pointers that gave Cebu a 19-12 lead with 2:10 remaining.
Manila fought back behind Dennis Santos and Dave Ando and closed the gap at 18-20 on a Henry Iloka basket in the last 8.0 ticks after a Mike Harry Nzeusseu slam.
But that proved to be too little, too late as Cebu held its ground the rest of the way to gain a slot in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Hong Kong Masters on Nov. 26 to 27.
“Iyong No. 1 na title, puwedeng makuha ng kahit sino,” Tallo said. “Pero iyong championship mahirap makuha.
“We redeemed ourselves from our disappointing losses back in the Riyadh Masters,” he added.
Cebu joined Serbia’s Ub and Liman, Belgium’s Antwerp, Latvia’s Riga, the Netherlands’ Amsterdam, Austria’s Vienna, Lithuania’s Å akiai GulbelÄ—, Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy, China’s Beijing, Chinese-Taipei’s Kaohsiun, Indonesia’s Yogyakarta Gojek, and four Hong Kong teams in the tourney that will serve as the last tilt before the Abu Dhabi Final.
