MANILA Chooks! put up a gallant stand but eventually went into foul trouble to absorb an18-22 (6:12) defeat at the hands of Japanese side Utsunomiya BREX EXE in Pool A action of the Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters 2023 on Saturday at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.
Dennis Santos rallied the lone Filipino team in the Level 10 FIBA 3×3 event from an early 5-9 deficit against the eighth-placer in the Utsunomiya Masters opener last April.
The Philippine No. 3 3×3 player strung six straight points, including a two-pointer and an and-one conversion which knotted the score at 11.
Top Philippine 3×3 player Mac Tallo and Sierra Leonean big man Tosh Sesay then gave Manila Chooks! a 14-12 advantage with under six minutes to play.
But foul trouble doomed the squad’s hopes of making the quarterfinals in Day 2, as “Japanese Terrence Romeo” Yosuke Saito sank free throws which gave his team an 18-15 lead.
“My hats off to the players, their effort and dedication showed in the game,” head trainer Chico Lanete said. “They just couldn’t react after getting those fouls.”
“We just have to continue what we have started and master our game plan,” he said. “We should learn from this lesson and avoid unnecessary fouling.”
Guard Paul Desiderio converted a two while Sesay’s dunk pulled the locals within 18-20.
Serbian national Marko Milakovic delivered the knockout punch with 3:48 remaining with a contested two from the left wing to send Utsunomiya to Day 2 of the competition.
“Making the winning shot is always amazing. I spoke with the Manila team and told them they had a perfect game,” Milakovic said. “Mac was a superb guy. The positive energy of the home people also made this game better.”
“Sometimes, players just want it more to win, that’s why tomorrow, we need to focus,” the Serbian said. “This is our third time here, so hopefully, we make it to the semifinals and the finals.”
Tallo said Manila Chooks! need to build from its stinging defeats.
“The effort was there. We tried to win the second game, we gave it our all but we didn’t have the energy to go o,” he said. Utsunomiya joined undefeated Ub Huishan NE of Serbia as Pool A quarterfinalists.
Riga of Latvia and San Juan of Puerto Rico in Pool B, Amsterdam HiPRO of Netherlands and Futian of China in Pool C and Beijing of China and Sansar MMC Energy of Mongolia in Pool D advanced to the playoffs.
The winner of the Manila Masters will take home $40,000 while the second and third placers will receive $30,000 and $22,000, respectively.
