Pasig, Melbourne survive Manila Challenger qualifying

Pasig Chooks secure main draw berth.

Local team Pasig Chooks and Australia's Melbourne iAthletic complete the cast of teams in the main draw of the Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger, after the qualifying matches that took place at the SM City Fairview Events Center.

The latter eased past Jakarta South, 21-2 before dispatching Narvacan, 22-13. The 3x3Hustle regulars are rewarded with a spot in Pool C where Russian side Gagarin and Serbian side Belgrade NetTV beckons.

The former, on the other hand, needed a little bit of drama to earn their spot.

After cruising to a 21-9 win over Zamboanga, the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup champions had to face the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 Patriot's Cup champions Phenom Basilan (in its iteration as Isabela City Chooks) in what turned out to be a play-in for the remaining qualifying spot.

With Pasig trailing, 19-20, with 12.2 seconds left, Joshua Munzon managed to secure a rebound off a long distance attempt from Nikola Pavlovic. After drawing the Steel defense towards him, Munzon then threw a pass to the wide-open Serbian, who knocked down a one-legged fadeaway deuce to secure a 21-20 victory.

Nikola says, "It's tough but this is what we live for."

Pasig now joins Pool D alongside Slovenian side Kranj and Mongolian side Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy.

The main draw tips off this afternoon, with a couple of spots at the Jeddah Masters on the line. Joining Pasig as the lone Pinoy sides left in the Manila Challenger are Balanga Chooks, who are already assured of a berth in the Jeddah Masters. Balanga is in Pool A with Czech side Humpolec Bernard and the second-ranked team in the FIBA 3x3 rankings, Riga Ghetto.