PH, MONGOLIA RENEW 3X3 RIVALRY
TWO foes familiar with one another will cross paths once more as teams from the Philippines and Mongolia clash in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Fiba 3x3 World Tour Cebu Masters on Oct. 1 at SM Seaside City Cebu.
The Philippines, the 22nd country in the Fiba 3x3 world ranking, will be represented by two teams—Cebu Chooks which has a guaranteed spot in the main draw, and Manila Chooks which will go through the qualifying draw.
Mongolia, the No. 4 team in the world and the highest ranked Asian country, will also be fielding two teams: Sansar, seeded in the main draw, and Ulaanbaatar, playing in the qualifying draw.
The teams from the two basketball-loving countries have a colorful history with another, having matched up a whopping 21 times this year in five tournaments.
The Mongolians dominated their Filipino counterparts in the recent Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Fiba 3x3 International Quest held last Sept. 16 at the Ayala Malls Solenad. Zaisan blasted Butuan Chooks, 22-7, while Zavkhan escaped with a nail-biter over Manila Chooks, 19-17. Zaisan also posted victories against Cebu Chooks and Manila Chooks. It took another clutch free throw from Lanete to notch for the Philippines its lone win over Mongolia when Manila Chooks downed world number eight Ulaanbaatar, 21-20.
The current head-to-head between the two countries shows Mongolia posting 11 wins, while the Philippines has won over Mongolia 10 times.
It will be interesting to see how the four teams from both countries perform against each other in the Cebu Masters in what is turning out to be one of the most gripping rivalries in Fiba 3x3 basketball.