Cebuano guard Mac Tallo of Manila Chooks TM catches his breath during their game against Amsterdam of the Netherlands in the 2021 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Masters on Saturday. | Photo from Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Manila Chooks TM opened their campaign in the 2021 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Masters on a rough patch after the Pinoys lost their opening two games at the Kasr Al Amwaj, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
On Saturday morning (Manila time), the Manila Chooks TM had the worst performance of their campaign after they lost to the No. 5 seed Amsterdam of the Netherlands,8-22.
The one-sided match lasted only nine minutes and three seconds.
On Friday evening, they lost to Liman of Serbia, 11-22.
With the two straight defeats, the Philippines’ Manila Chooks TM slid down to the 11th spot of the 14-team tournament.
“Of course, we’re disappointed,” said Manila Chooks TM head trainer Aldin Ayo.
“Even if we did not have Mike (Nzeusseu), it’s no excuse for the performance that we had. We are looking to re-assess our lineup for the 2022 pro circuit,” Ayo said.
Mac Tallo and the rest of the Manila quartet simply struggled to find the hole early on despite getting good looks.
Amsterdam, on the other end, pounded the Filipinos who were missing Cameroonian big man Mike Nzeusseu in the paint, racing to a 13-4 lead four minutes into the game.
Old dogs Mark Yee and Chico Lanete tried to bring a semblance of a fight but the momentum was clearly with Amsterdam.
World No. 14 Julian Jaring split his free throw with 1:03 left in the game while world No. 15 Maksim Kovacevic scored the last points for Amsterdam which advanced to the next round of the tournament.
Amsterdam finished with a 1-1 (win-loss) record while Liman had an unbeaten run of 2-0.
Tallo only had three points versus Amsterdam while he had eight against Liman.
Fellow Cebuano Zach Huang only had two points. /rcg
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