Manila Chooks 3×3 squad arrives in Saudi Arabia for the 2022 NEOM Super Quest. | Photo from Chooks-to-Go.
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Manila Chooks 3×3 squad will begin its campaign in the 2022 NEOM Super Quest on Friday, November 4, 2022, in Neom, Saudi Arabia.
The event is a qualifier for the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Hong Kong Masters and part of the NEOM Beach Games 2022.
This will be the first time Manila Chooks will play without its veteran guard, Chico Lañete who now serves as the team’s head coach and trainer.
Manila Chooks, the second-best 3×3 squad in the Philippines will have 6-foot-7 Cebuano forward Dave Ando, 6-foot-5 Dennis Santos (PH no. 5), 6-foot-8 Ken Holmqvist (PH no. 10), and 6-foot-11 Nigerian import Henry Iloka.
“While we are still looking for new players for the crucial 2023 season, we still need to compete to close out the year,” said Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas.
“And this opportunity to compete in Neom will help us gauge who will be our foundational blocks for our teams next year.”
For Lañete, the Neom tournament is a fitting test for his team to see if they’ve got what it takes to play against the world’s top 3×3 teams.
“Magandang test ito para sa Manila kung uubra ba ang big lineup namin against yung top teams in the world,” added Lanete.
“Very crucial yung November 2022 to November 2023 kasi hindi lang competing ang habol natin, kailangan na rin nating manalo. For the rest of the season, we will look to mix and match mga lineups natin.”
As the ninth seed, the team will play in Pool A with world No. 3 Riga of Latvia and No. 19 Warsaw of Poland.
The champion team will walk away with a whopping $10,000 and $5,000 for the runner-up.
Also competing in the Slam Dunk competition is Pinoy high flyer, David Carlos.
Manila Chooks must win in the tournament after their counterparts, the Cebu Chooks of Mac Tallo, Brandon Ramirez, Mike Nzeusseu, and Vince Tolentino was swept during the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Tainan City Challenger last October 22. /rcg
ALSO READ:
All set for FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters at SM Seaside
Expect another Fiba 3×3 World Tour in Cebu