A photo from Chooks-to-go shows the Cebu Chooks team composed of (from left) Mike Nzeusseu, Mac Tallo, Aldin Ayo, Zach Huang, and Brandon Ramirez.
Cebu City, Philippines—The new-look Cebu Chooks will be one of eight teams that will compete in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Dubai Expo Super Quest on Thursday, March 31, 2022.
The Cebu Chooks is spearheaded by two Cebuano cagers in Mac Tallo and Zach Huang, who have been campaigning for the country under Chooks 3×3 team for several years now.
They are joined by new member Brandon Ramirez, a Filipino-Canadian cager, and Cameroonian Mike Nzeusseu, who already applied for naturalization.
The team’s head coach is Aldin Ayo.
The Super Quest is a level eight out of a possible 10 tournament and will serve as a qualifier in a World Tour stop that has yet to be revealed by FIBA 3×3.
“FIBA 3×3’s invitation came as a surprise as it only came to us last weekend,” Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas said in a press release sent to the media on Tuesday, March 29. “But we never turn down any challenge that’s why we accepted it.
“And of course, we are in crunch time in racking up valuable FIBA 3×3 points in order to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Joining these top-level tournaments will help in our climb,” added Mascariñas, whose company Chooks-to-Go is a global partner of FIBA 3×3.
Some of the world’s top teams are slated to compete in the tournament as well, namely world no. 2 Antwerp (Belgium), no. 3 Liman (Serbia), no. 4 Riga (Latvia), no. 9 San Juan (Puerto Rico), no. 10 Lausanne (Switzerland), Chicago (USA), and a team from Dubai.
The eight teams will be divided into two pools of four with the top two teams advancing to the knockout semis on the same day.
Cebu Chooks is slotted with Riga (7:25PM), Chicago (9:30PM), and Antwerp (11:35PM)
“It’s a different format than what we are used to but we are ready,” said Ayo. “This tournament will be a good baptism of fire for us as we prepare for the grind of the season in two months’ time.”
The team’s name for the tournament on Thursday is to highlight the Cebu City’s hosting of one of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Masters legs on October 1-2.
Manila, on the other hand, will host the other leg earlier on May 28-29.
/bmjo
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