 |
| Travis Franklin set to make his Chooks 3x3 league debut |
With Gold's Gym Pasig not participating in the third leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriot's Cup presented by Coca-Cola, the rest of the field is set to take advantage and make some headway towards the top of the leaderboard.
Pasig currently is atop with 170 points, but will not participate in Saturday's leg at the SM Muntinlupa Events Center due to their participation in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Poitiers Challenger being held at the same weekend. The league, however, will award them 60-100 points depending on how they perform at this qualifier for the Lausanne Masters.
Second leg winners VetHealth-Delhi are set to make it back-to-back wins for the veteran ballers of the 3x3 Basketball League. A win would move them atop the standings since they are just ten points back of Pasig.
Both Wilkins-Balanga and Phenom-Basilan look to learn from their experience at last week's Haining Challenger to good use in the Patriot's Cup, with both teams making some replacements.
Travis Franklin is set to make his Chooks 3x3 debut for Balanga after being with the team for their World Tour runs, replacing Prince Orizu. Franklin recognizes the urgency of the situation they are in, suffering from back-to-back semifinal defeats in the previous two legs coupled with their struggles in the World Tour. He says, "We need to get the wins, man."
Balanga currently in fourth place with 130 points.
Basilan, on the other hand, is fielding Gab Dagangon in place of Roosevelt Adams for this leg, with the latter suffering a hamstring injury during the Challenger. Franky Johnson is definitely raring to go after missing out on the Challenger, leaving the Steel with just three guys during that run. They are looking to build on their performance in China with a maiden victory at the Patriot's Cup, after falling short in the final of the previous two legs, netting them a total of 160 points.
Aside from these four, the other eight teams are looking to break through into the semifinals as well.
Currently in sixth place with 85 points is Zamboanga Valientes MLV, who will opt to field a three-man squad for this leg. They will also bring back Shooster Olago in place of Ola Adeogun.
Max4-Birada Cebu is complete for this leg after competing in the last one with just three players at SM Fairview. Alfred Codilla of the MPBL's Cebu Sharks replaces Darrell Menina, while Elmer Echavez of the University of San Jose-Recoletos completes the quartet.
Replacing Pasig for this leg is guest side Gold's Gym Muntinlupa, with Biboy Enguio of the MPBL's Muntinlupa Cagers leading the quartet. Enguio has 3x3 experience representing Indonesia in last year's FIBA 3x3 World Cup.
Joining the former University of the East standout are noted Dunk Contest participant David Carlos, Lloyd Cabeguin of Olivarez College, and Congolese big man Tommy Lisika of Diliman College.
Lisika, who is just 19 years old, shares, "I am very excited. This is the first time we are playing together and we hope to get the support of the Muntinlupa fans."
Topping this leg rewards the champion PhP 100,000, while the tournament has a prize pool of PhP 2,000,000 as well as berths to the Jeddah Masters and the Xiong'An Challenger.
The twelve teams have been subdivided into four Pools as follows, with only the top team advancing into the semifinals:
Pool A: VetHealth-Delhi 3BL, Marikina Shoemasters, Vigan-MiGuard Wolves
Pool B: Wilkins-Balanga, Zamboanga MLV, Thunder-Pateros Hunters
Pool C: Tycoon Ballers QC, Mindoro Tamaraws, Max4-Birada Cebu
Pool D: Phenom-Basilan CTC Construction, Gold's Gym Muntinlupa, Inoza-Gulf Supreme Boosters
All games will be shown live on ESPN5's social media platforms, with ESPN5 telecast begins at 1pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment