By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Manila Chooks TM squad ended their FIBA 3×3 World Tour Doha Masters campaign with two painful losses and no wins.
Salty shooting and the size and height disadvantage the Filipinos had during the course of the tournament haunted them in both games as powerhouses Liman and Lusail imposed their will against Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike, and Santi Santillan.
The devastating Doha Masters stint will prevent the Manila Chooks squad from qualifying in the prestigious 2020 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Finals in Jeddah.
World no. 1 ranked Liman squared off first with the country’s top 3×3 hoopers but the experience and the chemistry the Serbian squad had was the total edge in their matchup.
It was a free-flowing basketball display on the side of Liman as they executed on several called plays while Manila Chooks struggled to score and mainly relied on Munzon’s scoring prowess.
The same scenario was seen in their game against Lusail, the home team in Doha where the size advantage and the communication they had outlasted Manila.
Lusail’s bigs bullied their way in the post as Rike, Pasaol, and Santillan just couldn’t hold their own in the shaded area.
Coach Aldin Ayo and the rest of the squad will try to learn from the Doha experience and go back to the drawing board to prepare for the next tournaments.
