Basilan caps MPBL Invitational opener with Bicol win

Michael Juico

The much-anticipated matchup between Basilan and Bicol lived up to the hype on Saturday night, as former held off the latter, 70-65, in Pool B action at the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Invitational powered by TM inside the Mall of Asia Arena.

Basilan head coach Jerson Cabiltes shared post-match, "It was a hard-fought game from start to finish."

He adds, "They built a big lead at the start between the first and second quarter we were down by 15. I just told the boys not to give up and to stay with our system and to keep the pressure on. Ayun nga, buti na lang nag bunga nung dulo."

Bicol led 26-11 at that point, and Jumbo Plastic-backed side battled back to overcome the deficit.

After drawing Mark Yee's fifth foul, JR Taganas secured a split of his free throws to establish a 67-65 lead with 47.2 seconds remaining.

Another split from the from the charity stripe, this time from Jay Collado, made it a three-point game with 11.4 seconds left.

Bicol had a chance to tie the game, but Dennis Santos misfires on his three-pointer. Ernesto Bondoc would then convert on a fastbreak layup to cap scoring in the game.

Michael Juico topped Basilan with 24 points on 7/13 shooting, with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the victory. Collado added fifteen points and seven rebounds, with team skipper Jonathan Uyloan contributing eleven markers, a couple of boards, and three steals.

Santos led the Volcanoes in scoring with 22 points and four rebounds, while Ralph Tansingco netted thirteen markers. Top-ranked 3x3 baller Mac Tallo finished with twelve points, three rebounds, and five assists.

It will not take long for Bicol to try to give Aldin Ayo a win in his return to five-on-five coaching, as they face Laguna on Sunday at 1pm, while Basilan takes an uncharacteristic four-day break before returning to the court on Thursday against Marikina at 5pm.

The Scores: 

Basilan (70) - Juico 24, Collado 15, Uyloan 11, Serrano 6, Reyes 4, Bondoc 4, Siruma 3, Bringas 2, Taganas 1, Gabo 0, Gimpayan 0, Manalang 0

Bicol (65) - Santos 22, Tansingco 13, Tallo 12, Cruz 5, Yee 5, Marcelino 3, Huang 3, Luib 2, Lao 0, Gabawan 0

Quarterscores: 11-20, 35-35, 51-47, 70-65.

Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger set this weekend

Joshua Munzon set for global competition once again at the Manila Challenger.

The FIBA 3x3 World Tour heads to Philippines for the Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger, as the country puts up a last-ditch effort to get themselves into the running for a berth in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Fifteen teams have a chance to get a couple of berths into the Jeddah Masters in Saudi Arabia next month. Balanga Chooks is already assured of a berth for that particular tournament thanks to their efforts at the recently-concluded Patriot's Cup.

Balanga also happens to the be the lone Filipino side that will not go through qualifying, with the other four teams slotted to enter the first phase of action at SM City Fairview.

Narvacan will be dealing with Melbourne iAthletic and Jakarta South in QD A, while Pasig Chooks, Isabela Chooks, and Zamboanga comrpise QD B.

The QD A top-notcher will be slotted into Pool C with Gagarin and Belgrade NetTV, while the QD B top-notcher will be in Pool D with Kranj and Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy.

Leading the cast of favorites for the Manila Challenger is Riga Ghetto and the top-ranked player in 3x3, Karlis Lasmanis.

Coverage starts at 10am on ESPN5's social media channels, with televised action starting at noon.

Balanga takes first leg of Chooks 3x3 Magiting Cup

Alvin Pasaol deep in meditative state.

The third tournament of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 commenced last Sunday at the SM Clark Events Center, with Wilkins Balanga claiming the first leg in dramatic fashion.

With memories of the Patriot's Cup finale 36 days ago still fresh, the Pure avenged that defeat in similar fashion against Phenom-Basilan-CTC Construction, claiming the 21-20 victory over the Steel.

Knotted at 20-all with 54 seconds left, Troy Rike had a clean hook shot underneath, but the ball only went halfway in before rolling out. With Balanga getting a new lease in life after the miss, Alvin Pasaol would make sure to take full advantage.

The burly forward powered his way to the paint against Franky Johnson, then throws up a wild shot with 40.6 seconds left to snatch the victory.

Pasaol shared afterwards, "Kinabahan ako. Tumigil yung mundo ko nun. Siguro bwenas na lang kami." He adds, "Sobrang saya na nakabawi pero isang tournament lang ito. Yung championship talaga yung goal namin. Sana magtuloy tuloy."

The match reflected the physicality and intensity 3x3 basketball is all about, with Leonard Santillan incurring a cut above his right eyebrow and Davon Potts suffering a busted lip.

About getting the cut, Santillan says, "Gusto ko bumalik. Buti naagapan kagad. Iniisip ko yung last conference kasi wala ako nung Grand Finals nun. Yun yung motivation."

Potts made an impressive debut in 3x3 for Basilan, securing the game clinchers for the Steel against SOGO-Vigan in the quarterfinals, 21-14, and Mindoro-7A in the semifinals, 21-13.

Balanga easily took care of things against Zamboanga-MLV in the quarterfinals, 21-9, before needing a two-pointer from Chris de Chavez to fend off rivals Pasig-Equaliver, 22-19.

The side events saw David Carlos claim the Coca-Cola Slam Dunk contest, while Mindoro's Rodel Vaygan topped the Coca-Cola Two-point shootout. Both guys received PhP 10,000 for their efforts.

The second leg of the Magiting Cup will take place on Friday, September 6, and will act as a prelude to the Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger, which takes place on September 7-8.

The Scores:

Wilkins Balanga 21 - Pasaol 10, Dehesa 5, Santillan 3, De Chavez 2.

Phenom Basilan 20 - Johnson 9, Potts 6, Rike 4, Dionisio 1.

Basilan claim Patriot's Cup title

Your Patriot's Cup champion

Newcomers Phenom-Basilan Steel-CTC Construction established themselves as the newest force in the 3x3 scene in the country, claiming the final leg of the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 Patriot's Cup presented by Coca-Cola.

The Steel cruised by Tycoon Ballers-Quezon City, 21-4 in the quarterfinals before dispatching second leg champions VetHealth Delhi 3x3BL in the semifinals, 21-14. They would then cap it off by defeating Wilkins-Balanga Pure 21-20 in an overtime thriller.

With the game ending at 19-all after ten minutes, Balanga managed to get ahead after a Karl Dehesa layup. But the rules dictate that the winning team needs to score two points to claim a victory, and Troy Rike made a quick hand off to Franky Johnson, who then made his way towards the right corner, where he heaved a fadeaway deuce over Dehesa's outstretched arms.

After the heave made it through the net, pandemonium ensued.

Franky shares, "Everything was just moving so fast. I wasn’t even thinking about that shot, but as soon as my teammate got the rebound and got the ball to me, I was just kinda open a little bit so I just decided to pull it. Thank God it went in, so I’m really excited about that."

For Rike, it's back-to-back titles, after being part of Grindhouse-Pasig that claimed the President's Cup earlier this year. Regarding the game-winner, he says, "The play didn’t come off as cleanly as we wanted, but that’s what I’m saying. I trust Franky, I believe in Franky and he’s one hell of a shooter. So I know that if I give him even an inch of space, I knew he was gonna knock it down."

Marcus Hammonds led all scorers with nine points, with a returning Roosevelt Adams adding five markers.

By winning, Basilan not only earn a million pesos but also gets slotted into the Jeddah Masters of the 3x3 World Tour this coming October.

Alvin Pasaol led Balanga with eight markers, while Marcus Hammonds added seven points. They will not go home empty handed, as they get PhP 400,000 and a slot at the Xiongan Challenger scheduled this August. They outlasted rivals Gold's Gym-Pasig in the semifinals, 21-17.

The President's Cup champions finished in third place and snaps up PhP 200,000.

Team Manager Jackson Chua was overjoyed with the result, says "Wala akong masabi. It couldn't get more exciting as this. Ang hirap ng dinaanan namin. No better way to end it."

In the side events, Kiran Shastri completes the sweep of the Coca-Cola Two-Point Shootout, while David Carlos and Brodie Stephens were crowned as co-champions at the Coca-Cola Slam Dunk Competition.


The Scores:

Phenom-Basilan 21 - Hammonds 9, Adams 5, Johnson 5, Rike 1.

Wilkins-Balanga 20 - Pasaol 8, Franklin 7, De Chavez 3, Dehesa 2.

Balanga activates Santillan for Patriots Cup

He's back. Leonard Santillan returns to Balanga for the Patriot's Cup.

The fourth leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriot's Cup presented by Coca-Cola is set to take place tomorrow, and with the race for the top spot as close as it is, teams are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to finish the tournament on top.

Foremost in that quest is Wilkins-Balanga Pure, who have gone back to an old reliable for this penultimate leg, replacing Chris de Chavez with Leonard Santillan.

Currently the top-ranked Under-23 Filipino in the FIBA 3x3 rankings at 51st overall, Santillan was part of Balanga's run towards four finals appearances in the President's Cup, will make his Patriot's Cup debut at the SM Megamall Events Center. He joins Alvin Pasaol, Karl Dehesa, and Travis Franklin as they seek to build on the momentum they got from securing their first finals berth during the third leg this past weekend, with the squad in fourth place with 220 points.

Speaking of momentum, Basilan Steel is now atop the leaderboard after finally nailing their first title with 260 points. They will still be without Roosevelt Adams for this leg, with the Fil-Am committed to see action for Mighty Sports in the Jones Cup after missing the last leg with an injury. After tapping Gab Dagangon last week, the Steel will look to Brandon Hunter to fill the void alongside Franky Johnson, Troy Rike, and Marcus Hammonds.

With just a 30-point lead over VetHealth-Delhi and Gold's Gym-Pasig, Basilan recognize the situation they are in. Johnson shares, "We can't be complacent. We have to work on our plays and continue to build chemistry with each other."

The 3x3BL veterans are coming off a semifinal loss to the Steel, doing so with just three guys as AJ Gill was not available.

The Kings, on the other hand, missed out on the last leg due to their participation in the Poitiers Challenger at the 3x3 World Tour, where they finally got a victory that proved to be enough to get them into the knockout rounds, where they finished eighth overall. League organizers have rewarded them for their effort in France with the appropriate number of points to move them into a tie with Delhi at 230 points.

Taylor Statham shares, "We can't wait to show what we've learned from our France experience."

As for the others, Max4-Birada Cebu is looking to make it back-to-back semifinal appearances as it taps Mark Penerio for Jerome Napao, while Zamboanga Valientes MLV replaces Ola Adeogun with Darius Scott.

Pool play starts at 1045am tomorrow with coverage spread all across the ESPN5 social media footprint, with TV5 telecast scheduled at 1pm.

Teams have been allocated into these groups:

Pool A: Phenom-Basilan CTC Construction, Mindoro Tamaraws, Zamboanga Valientes MLV
Pool B: Wilkins-Balanga Pure, Max4-Birada Cebu, Marikina Shoemasters
Pool C: VetHealth-Delhi 3x3BL, Inoza-Gulf Bulacan, Thunder-Pateros Hunters
Pool D: Gold's Gym-Pasig, Tycoon-Ballers Quezon City, MiGuard-Vigan

Basilan claims first Chooks 3x3 title

New leg. New Champion. Welcome to the club, Phenom Basilan Steel CTC Construction

The third time is the charm, they said.

Phenom Basilan Steel CTC Construction claimed the third leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriots' Cup presented by Coca-Cola on Saturday afternoon at the SM Center Muntinlupa.

Fresh from their maiden appearance in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour at the Haining Challenger last week, the Steel finally won the big one after falling short in the final in the previous two legs, defeating the other team that went to China with them, Wilkins Balanga Pure, 21-16 with 96 seconds remaining.

Franky Johnson shares, "We deserve this." He adds, "We did this for the whole province of Basilan. That's our goal, to redefine Basilan."

The Steel lost to Gold's Gym Pasig, 21-15 in the first leg and followed that with a heart-breaking 21-20 defeat to VetHealth-Delhi in the second leg.

It was a nip-and-tuck battle against Balanga to cap off the day, featuring four deadlocks. Marcus Hammonds then produced an and-1 that broke a 13-all tie, that was then followed by a Troy Rike basket.

Alvin Pasaol and Johnson exchanged two's, but Pasaol would miss a couple of free throws and then Rike would extend the Steel's lead to four with 110 seconds to go.

A quick layup from Karl Dehesa would reduce the lead to three with 104 seconds remaining, but Johnson sealed the deal with a deuce eight seconds later.

Johnson finished with nine points, while Hammonds added seven. Rike would finish with four markers.

Travis Franklin led Balanga in scoring with six points in the final, with this leg being his debut in Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 after being the resident reinforcement for their World Tour stints.

Aside from the PhP 100,000 for winning the leg, Basilan now moves atop the leaderboard for the Patriot's Cup with 260 points, while Balanga moves up to third with 210. This is of course pending the number of points Pasig will receive for their eighth place finish at the Poitiers Challenger.

On the way to securing the title, Basilan managed to gain some revenge by defeating second leg champions VetHealth-Delhi, 22-20.

Rike clinched the win with a two with 23.7 seconds remaining, ending their semifinal with eight points. He shared to the media later, "Tough. Really tough for us. I think we didn't really know until yesterday that Roosevelt [Adams] wasn't really playing for sure. We had to come together, and we knew that we were missing some three-point shooting so I knew that going in."

Adams sat out the leg with a hamstring issue and was replaced by Gab Dagangon.

The semifinal stint keeps the 3x3BL squad in second place with 230 points.

Balanga secured their first final in the Patriot's Cup by defeating Max4-Birada Cebu, 21-18 in the other semifinal. The Cebuanos took advantage of Pasig's absence by nabbing the semifinal berth.

The Coca-Cola side events remained status quo, as both David Carlos and Kiran Shastri topped the slam dunk and shootout for the third straight leg. Carlos had a busy day as he also played for guest team Gold's Gym Muntinlupa that day. Muntinlupa filled in for Pasig with their 3x3 World Tour commitment.

The Patriots Cup now heads to SM Megamall for the fourth leg this coming July 13 at the Events Center.

The Scores:

Basilan 21 - Johnson 9, Hammonds 7, Rike 4.

Balanga 16 - Franklin 6, Dehesa 5, Pasaol 4, De Chavez 1.

Patriots Cup set for third leg in Muntinlupa

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.

Balanga, Basilan tapped for Haining Challenger

The Chooks World Tour has two new playdates.

In its quest to secure enough points to finish among the top 24 nations in the men's division to earn a spot in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 will be fielding three teams into two upcoming FIBA 3x3 World Tour Challenger events.

With the assistance of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the league is set to field Wilkins-Balanga (as Balanga Chooks) and Phenom-Basilan Steel-CTC Construction (as Isabela City Chooks) for the 2019 Hongxiang Holding Group Haining Challenger this coming weekend.

League owner Ronald Mascariñas shares, "We were only invited to the tournament with just one-week notice. But we need to join this tournament to continue to gather more points for the country." He also is grateful towards the SBP for their assistance in enabling this participation.

Chooks 3x3 commissioner Eric Altamirano adds, "Rest assured that the teams are preparing hard and will give their best in representing the country"

Representing the SBP, Director of Operations Butch Antonio expressed support on behalf of the federation to Chooks 3x3's effort in going for the spot in Olympic Qualifying. Antonio led a delegation that included ten Regional Directors, current Academy head for Coaches and Tournaments Jong Uichico, and Special Assistant to the President Ryan Gregorio.

Serving as the qualifier for the Montreal Masters, the Level-9 Challenger features a two-phase tournament, with a qualifying element slated in the morning before the tournament proper in the afternoon.

Whilst Balanga has already secured a spot in the main draw in Pool A alongside top seed Liman and Sosnovy Bor CopRosatom, Isabela City will have to earn their way into Pool C. To join Gagarin and Moscow Inanomo, the Steel will have fend off a couple of Mongolian sides in Sukhbaatar and Taikhar ARA ADM.

Pool B features Princeton, Ulaanbaatar, and Chongming, while Pool D features Zemun, Beijing, and one of Shanghai SSLC, Hangzhou Ashley, and HaiNing.

For Basilan, this is their first foray into international basketball. Team manager Jackson Chua notes, "Kami ng Chooks-to-Go, pareho yung mission namin which is to represent our country well. Yung local government namin ay in full support for this team because we want to change the image of Basilan."

The Steel will be fielding Roosevelt Adams, Franky Johnson, Marcus Hammonds, and guest player Gab Banal. Last season's Most Valuable Player in the MPBL is a replacement for Troy Rike, who is registered under Pasig Chooks in the FIBA 3x3 circuit this season. They are looking to keep their momentum from making the finals of both Patriots' Cup legs onto the international stage.

Balanga, on the other hand, will rely on the quartet of Alvin Pasaol, Karl Dehesa, Chris De Chavez, and Travis Franklin.

Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 champions Gold's Gym-Pasig were also present, with their impending participation at the Poitiers Challenger next week already scheduled.