Zamboanga City rules early in 3x3 tourney
FAMILY’S Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City Chooks topped the initial leg of the ChookstoGo 3x3 Pilipinas President’s Cup on Wednesday and is now looking to continue to roll heading into the succeeding phases of the tournament.
Composed of the country’s top three-on-three players and national team members, namely Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike and Santi Santillan, Zamboanga City defeated Butuan-Uling Roasters, 21-17, in the finals of the first leg of the Cup held in a “bubble” setup at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
It is hoping to build on it as the team treks back to the court for the second leg of the two-weeklong tournament on Friday.
Zamboanga City used a massive late charge, led by Mr. Munzon, to win the contest.
The team was trailing, 17-14, with less than three minutes to play when it went on a 7-0 blast to pull the rug from under Butuan.
Mr. Munzon, the Philippines’ number one- ranked player, capped their impressive run by coolly sinking his free throw that handed them the win and the P100,000 prize.
The 6- 2 Filipino- American player tallied 12 points in their finals victory, with Mr. Pasaol, the country’s second-ranked player, adding six markers.
Mr. Rike had two points while Mr. Santillan finished with a point for the winners.
“Again, it showed we can fight through adversity. We just stuck to our script. We took advantage of our advantages,” said Mr. Munzon of their win and their team.
Incidentally, the ongoing tournament is being used by the national team as part of its preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year.
Also part of the squad but could not join it in the President’s Cup are Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA) stars CJ Perez and mo Tautuaa who are playing in their own bubble with the PBA.
Leading Butuan in the finals game was former PBA player Karl Dehesa with six points, with teammates Chris De Chavez and Chico Laneta each contributing four. Franky Johnson added three points.
Despite losing in the finals, Butuan also got P100,000 as promised by Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. president and league owner Ronald Mascarinas to whoever the opponent is whenever Family’s Brand Sardines makes it to the finals.
Ending up at third place in the first leg was the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards.
Meanwhile, focus now shifts to the second leg on Friday to be followed by two more legs on Oct. 25 and 27, and then the Grand Finals that has a P1-million top prize on Oct. 30.
The Chooks-to- Go 3x3 Pilipinas President’s Cup powered by TM is endorsed by world basketball governing body FIBA.
It is the second league in the country to open amid the ongoing concern with the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament is being conducted under strict monitoring of health and safety protocols laid out by the Inter- Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Participants in the Cup are staying in the governmentapproved Calamba facility of National University throughout the proceedings.