Zamboanga City barely escapes Palayan City in President's Cup fourth leg opener

Munzon bails out Zamboanga City

Zamboanga City was on the verge of being upset again in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup powered by TM on Tuesday afternoon, but Joshua Munzon prevented that from happening.

The top 3x3 baller in the Philippines aided the Family's Brand Sardines-backed quartet to a 19-17 overtime victory over Palayan City in their opening pool play match for the fourth leg.

After converting a free throw off a JP Sarao foul, a Bobby Balucanag turnover Munzon then swooped towards the basket for his eighth point and the game-clinching basket.

He shared after the game, "It's having some slow starts but it's not how you start, it’s how you finish."

Smarting from their quarterfinal defeat to Pasig-Sta. Lucia in the third leg, Munzon adds, "We are going through what every team goes, the highs and the lows. Just got to go through it."

Zamboanga City trailed 9-16 with three minutes left, but three straight two-pointers from Troy Rike, Leonard Santillan, and Munzon reduced the deficit to a solitary point.

Santillan would then force overtime at 17-all through his trademark hook with 13.6 seconds remaining.

In other early pool play action, Marvin Hayes connected on four two-pointers to power Sarangani to a 21-13 win over Bacolod-Masters Sardines, avenging their 20-21 nailbiter of a defeat in the quarterfinals of the previous leg.

Also winning their matchups are Zamboanga Valientes MLV, who beat Petra Cement-Roxas ZN, 21-11, and Nueva Ecija, who beat Bicol-Paxful 3x3 Pro, 21-13.

Zamboanga City claims President's Cup first leg

Your President's Cup first leg champions: Zamboanga City

Family Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City-Chooks took care of business inside the "Calambubble," as they topped the first leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup powered by TM on Wednesday.

The quartet of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike, and Leonard Santillan completed the sweep with a 21-17 victory over Butuan-Uling Roasters in the final.

Butuan did not make it easy for Zamboanga City, establishing a 17-14 lead before a Munzon two-pointer jumpstarted a 7-0 run to complete the come-from-behind victory.

The man called the "Night King" scored twelve points in the final, capped off by a free throw. He shared afterwards, "Again, it showed we can fight through adversity. We just stuck to our script. We took advantage of our advantages."

Pasaol added six markers and kept the team afloat early on as they tried to fend off a game Butuan side, which was led by Karl Dehesa's six points. Chris De Chavez and Chico Lanete each contributed four markers.

Zamboanga City claims the PhP 100,000 prize for clinching the title. By virtue of the incentive plan league owner Ronald Mascarinas put in place for teams to help Zamboanga City with their Olympic Qualifying Tournament preparations, Butuan City also earned P100,000 aside from their second place prize of PhP 30,000.

To get to the final, Zamboanga City dispatched Porac in the quarters and Nueva Ecija in the semis, while Butuan City dispatched Bacolod in the quarters and Zamboanga Peninsula in the semifinals.

Earning PhP 20,000 as third placers are the Rice Vanguards, who had to play the knockout rounds with only three players after an ankle injury to Juan Gomez de Liano.

In the side events for the first leg, De Chavez claimed the TM Two-Point Shootout and its PhP 10,000 cash prize, while Jesus Manay upset David Carlos to claim the TM Slam Dunk contest and its PhP 20,000 incentive.

The second leg of the President's Cup will take place on Friday inside the bubble setup at INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba.

The Scores:

ZAMBOANGA CITY 21 -- Munzon 12, Pasaol 6, Santillan 2, Rike 1.

BUTUAN CITY 17 -- Dehesa 6, De Chavez 4, Lanete 4, Johnson 3.

Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 joins the professional ranks

The movement takes a new step.

The Games and Amusement Board has given its approval to the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 as a professional league, joining the Philippine Basketball Association and the Philippines Football League.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, with GAB chairman Baham Mitra and league commissioner Eric Altamirano gracing the ceremony on the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Facebook page.

Mitra says, "We'd like to announce that in the board meeting of the Games and Amusement Board yesterday, we have accepted the interest of Chooks-to-Go 3x3 to turn professional."

In response, Altamirano replies, "I'd like to thank the Games and Amusement Board, headed by Chairman Baham Mitra, for allowing our sports organization, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3, to become a professional league."

Founded by Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. president Ronald Mascarinas, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3's objective was to help the Philippines gain enough points in the FIBA 3x3 rankings to earn a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which the event will make its debut in.

Said efforts allowed the league to get themselves a fighting chance for that spot, as the country made it into the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the men's division. Originally scheduled to take place in India, the coronavirus pandemic has rescheduled the tourney to Austria next year.

Altamirano adds, "I really believe that we Filipinos have a very strong chance of excelling in this sport. We all know what happened last year. For the first time, we were able to qualify for the Olympic Qualifiers. 16 lang naman yung nag-qualify and we were one of them. It only shows that Filipinos can excel in this, considering na maliliit tayo. I don't think height really matters when it comes to 3x3."

The move to become a professional league will allow Filipino hoopers to have another platform to aspire to. According to Altamirano, "This will provide our local players the opportunity to explore possibilities as a professional career in the 3x3 league. Gusto namin maging something aspirational for young 3x3 players."

The long time 3x3 advocate also shares, "Siguro iisipin ng iba, hindi ako pwede sa five-on-five, so there's another platform that they can really aspire to become a basketball player. And by having a pro league sa 3x3, then there's something na meron pala akong pupuntahan if I start playing the 3x3 at an early age."

The league believes that its elevation onto the professional ranks will help the Philippines be recognized as among the top nations in the 3x3 scene. Already home to the top ten 3x3 players in the country in the likes of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Dylan Ababou, Karl Dehesa, Leonard Santillan, Jaypee Belencion, Chris de Chavez, Ryan Monteclaro, Gab Banal, and Leo De Vera.

Munzon in particular expressed excitement with this development, having been part of the league since its inception. "It's pretty cool. It's definitely a step in the right direction in growing the game in the Philippines," he said. "It's pretty cool, from when we started the first 3x3 league in the Philippines to now that we're turning pro."

What started out as a dream has finally turned into reality as the groundbreaking Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 is now a professional league, following the approval of the Games and Amusement Board.

With this, the Philippines has joined the likes of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and majority of European countries that have its own 3x3 pro league, something that Altamirano is extremely thrilled about.

But beyond being a platform, Altamirano strongly believes that finally having a 3x3 pro league will further help the Philippines in its aim of becoming a force to be reckoned with in the global 3x3 scene.

"'Yung pagiging professional ng Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 will help strengthen our drive in becoming a dominant force in the 3x3 sport all over the world," Altamirano said.

Pasig set for plunge at Xiongan Challenger

Pasig Chooks headed to Xiong An

The Xiongan Challenger scheduled today and tomorrow will feature a slightly different Pasig Chooks side.

Troy Rike returns to the team he first played for, as the current Basilan Steel stalwart replaces Taylor Statham in the quartet for Pasig, joining Joshua Munzon, Dylan Ababou, and Nikola Pavlovic.

Both Rike and Ababou acknowledge that the team will have a different feel with Taylor's absence.

The former shares, "Team is gonna be a lot different without Taylor and missing him is a huge loss. We’re gonna be missing a strong physical presence who’s been a leader for Pasig since the beginning." He adds, "Our style of play is going to have to be different without him, so we’ll put our best game plan out there and just do our best to compete without him.

The latter says, "Taylor is really a big loss for the team. He is one of our best players and an exceptional athlete, but we have been together since January so we can easily make do with what we have." The UST alumnus also adds, "Here’s always pressure and it's normal. We are very hungry considering the fact that our team hasn’t proven anything yet in international tournaments."

Slotted into the main draw, they face off against Beijing at 540pm and against a qualifier at 910pm. Said qualifier involving the trio of The Hague, Calgary, and Xiongan will take place later today. Survive this, and they proceed to the knockout rounds the next day.

The Xiongan Challenger has a $32,000 prize pool and a spot at the Los Angeles Masters is at stake.

Pasig managed to participate in this tournament thanks to a technicality from FIBA 3x3. The tour did not allow Basilan into the Jeddah Masters given the complication of Rike still being registered to Pasig for this season's activities. The spot had been one of the rewards for the Steel copping the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriot's Cup.

As such, Balanga, who finished runner-up to Basilan, will be making the trip to Jeddah, while Pasig gets to play in Xiongan.

Basilan will still get to play in the international stage, as they were rewarded a spot in the Sukhbaatar Challenger on September 13-14 as well as the Manila Challenger on September 7-8 where they are already expected to participate.

Pasig look to end recent 3x3 woes at Poitier Challenger

Pasig Chooks with Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 Commissioner Eric Altamirano

Pasig Chooks seeks to get themselves back on track, as they compete in the upcoming Poitiers Challenger of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour in France this weekend.

This particular Challenger is a feeder to the Lausanne Masters, which will take place on August 23-24.

Ranked 27th in the world, the quartet of Joshua Munzon (World number 96), Taylor Statham (World number 102), Nikola Pavlovic (World number 134), and Dylan Ababou (Philippines' number 6), have struggled in the last two Challengers they have participated, going winless in Kunshan and Moscow.

Such struggles have since moved into league play, having been stopped by Phenom-Basilan Steel, 20-18, in the semifinals of the second leg of the Patriots' Cup at SM Fairview, the first time the Kings did not make a final in the history of Chooks Pilipinas 3x3, going back to the President's Cup and even the preseason.

With time running out on the Philippines' aspirations to make it to Olympic Qualification for men's 3x3 basketball, league owner Ronald Mascariñas made clear his marching orders for Pasig, in the aftermath of both Basilan (as Isabela City Chooks) and Wilkins-Balanga (as Balanga Chooks) being unable to make it to the knockout rounds of the Haining Challenger last week, even if the former managed to emerge out of the qualifiers and into pool play with just three guys.

The BAVI head honcho says, "It's one thing to participate but we need to get the victories as it will multiply our points in the FIBA 3X3 ladder. They are more equipped now to take on the European squads with their experience in both our local league and the Challengers they played in."

Seeded fifth overall, Pasig is assigned in Pool D alongside Swiss side Lausanne, and one from these three French teams set to participate in qualifying: Lyon Blacklist, La Rochelle, and Poitiers.

They will face the qualifier at 1130pm on July 5, before facing Lausanne at 230am on July 6. Survive that and they will face either Kranj, Nantes Aderim, or Cairo in the quarterfinals later that evening. (All times in Manila)

Munzon is aware of the recent struggles, says "I wouldn't say that there's more pressure than the last one but I feel like we know that we are better than what we have been showing. We have to go out there and win games."

Statham adds, "We said over and over again that this is an uphill battle. We've used all these losses as lessons. The Poitiers Challenger is a good gauge of how far we've come. I don't want to give any predictions or say what we are going to do. I just want to let our game do the talking."

Joining the quartet in France is Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 Commissioner Eric Altamirano.

Participating in the Poitiers Challenger means Pasig will miss out on the third leg of the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 Patriots' Cup presented by Coca-Cola, which also takes place this weekend at SM Muntinlupa.

The league, however, recognizes that and will award Pasig 60-100 points depending on the team's performance in the Challenger.

Pasig claims first leg of Patriots Cup

The best 3x3 team in the country. The team with the two best 3x3 players in the country.

New tournament. Tweaked rules. Same result.

Gold's Gym-Pasig Kings reminding everyone about their place in the 3x3 basketball scheme of things, as they secured the first leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriots' Cup presented by Coca-Cola on Sunday afternoon at the SM Seaside City in Cebu.

The President's Cup champions claimed the title by defeating upstarts Phenom-Basilan Steel, 21-15, in just under 8 minutes.

Taylor Statham ran roughshod against the Steel, scoring 13 points. He shared after the tournament, "It's great. Honestly this is what our team needed."

Pasig struggled in both the Kunshan and Tinkoff Moscow Challengers, finishing both competitions without a win.

Taylor went on a personal 5-2 run against Basilan, allowing the Kings to move ahead 15-14 after trailing 12-10.

Joshua Munzon and Nikola Pavlovic each added four points for Pasig to complete scoring.

Marcus Hammond led Phenom-Basilan with eleven points, with both Franky Johnson, Roosevelt Adams, and Troy Rike shut down by the Kings' defense.

Basilan managed to break through to the final after riding on Johnson's shooting to fend off Wilkins Balanga Pure, 21-19.

This leg featured the presence of a foreign squad with VetHealth Delhi of India's 3x3 Pro Basketball League. The 14th-ranked club side in the FIBA 3x3 rankings made it to the semifinals before bowing to Pasig, 21-16, doing so with just three guys due to Arsh Deep Singh having travel issues.

The Indian side did have something to be proud of, as Kiran Shastri claimed the Shootout competition with a 14-9 victory over Max4 Birada Cebu's Mark-Gil Panerio.

Meanwhile, David Carlos ruled the roost in the Slam Dunk competition.

Statham adds, "Those are two great teams we just played. Can't make too many turnovers and mistakes."

Pasig took home PHP 100,000 and 100 points in taking the first leg. Excelling in all five legs is a must after league owner Ronald Mascarinas announced that berths in the Jeddah Masters and the Xiong'an Challenger are on the line for outstanding teams in the Patriots' Cup.

The Scores:

Pasig 21 -- Statham 13, Munzon 4, Pavlovic 4, Ababou 0.

Basilan 15 -- Hammonds 11, Johnson 2, Adams 2, Rike 0.

Pasig Chooks set for Kunshan grind

Pasig Chooks

For Pasig Chooks, the quest to make headway in the 3x3 scene leads to a familiar roadblock.

The Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup champions are set to once again cross paths with Liman when pool play for the FIBA 3x3 Huaquiao International Kunshan Challenger commences on Saturday.

At 740pm, the Serbian side will have a chance to avenge their 19-16 loss to the Kings at the Doha Masters, although this time around they will be facing a team without Nikola Pavlovic and Angelo Tsagarakis. Both players are sidelined due to injuries, with Pavlovic has an injured hand and Tsagarakis dealing with a semi-fractured rib.

Dylan Ababou and Troy Rike have rejoined the duo of Joshua Munzon and Taylor Statham, reuniting the same crack unit that dominated Chooks Pilipinas 3x3. Both Joshua and Taylor highlighted their chemistry and experience alongside each other as a key role heading into the Challenger.

Statham shares, "I have the utmost confidence in Troy and Dylan. "We played together for four months and it doesn't matter how good players are, the team camaraderie is what's so important. And you can't replicate the experience." The top-ranked Filipino 3x3 baller had nine points and five rebounds against Liman that day.

Munzon adds, "We won the local league championship together so I feel like we have that chemistry. Experience is everything in 3x3. We definitely hope they get their rhythm and can contribute and do their thing too." The ASEAN Basketball League veteran added four markers in that particular win.

Before facing off against Liman, Pasig Chooks will face Russian side Sosnovy Bor Cop Rosatom at 555pm. That matchup could already decide the fate of Pool A, since Liman and Sosnovy Bor will play at 410pm.

Survive pool play and they get the chance at making it to the Chengdu Masters in a few weeks through Sunday's knockout rounds.

The Kunshan Challenger champion claims $15,000, while the runner-up gets $10,000. Third and fourth place teams net $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.

One can watch Day 1 of the Kunshan Challenger below.

Pasig set for All-Filipino grind at Kunshan Challenger

The original Pasig Grindhouse squad back together. Flanked by the Altamiranos

Pasig Chooks will be channeling a little throwback when it participates in the FIBA 3x3 Huaquiao International Kunshan Challenger this weekend.

With both its recent reinforcements sidelined with injuries, the team will be going back to the original lineup that dominated the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup in Taylor Statham, Joshua Munzon, Dylan Ababou, and Troy Rike.

Nikola Pavlovic is nursing a swollen left hand, while Angelo Tsagarakis is dealing with a semi-fractured rib that he incurred during the Doha Masters.

Regardless, the team believes this is a good test for the country, as it tests its mettle against some of the world's best in the 3x3 scene.

League commissioner Eric Altamirano shares, "It's going to be tough. We are facing Liman and one Russian team. It's going to be a tough group but hopefully, with their familiarity of the players with each other, that can be an advantage for us." He adds, "Also, Josh and Taylor gained a lot of experience in Doha."

Pasig Chooks is in Pool A alongside familiar foe Liman and Russian side Sosnovy Bor Cop Rosatom. They play the Russians first at 5:55pm, before facing the Serbs at 740pm on Saturday.

Finishing first or second in the Pool grants them access to the knockout rounds on Sunday.

Topping the Challenger nets $15,000, while runners-up pocket $10,000.  Finishing third and fourth nets $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.

"They are not just representing Pasig or Chooks-to-Go for this tournament. They are the country's representatives," closed Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 league owner Ronald Mascariñas.

The Kunshan Challenger is the final qualifier for the second leg of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, which takes place in Chengdu this coming June. Liman and Riga Ghetto have already booked their ticket to this particular 3x3WT leg, so the top team other than those two will earn said ticket.

Chooks World Tour yields immediate dividends in FIBA 3x3 rankings

Taylor Statham drives to the basket against Katara opposition.

The Philippines' quest to make the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 3x3 basketball continues to make incidental advances, in the advent of the release of the updated FIBA 3x3 rankings.

After the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters in Doha, the Philippines moved up a single spot in the federation rankings to 31st overall with 1,806,820 points.

This is possible due to the effort of Pasig Grindhouse and the Bataan Risers, who finished fifth and sixth in the first leg of the 2019 World Tour.

Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 owner Ronald Mascariñas says, "We are elated with this development but the work is far from over." He adds, "We at Chooks-to-Go will continue to do our part in helping promote 3x3 basketball, develop our players, and join the tournaments sanctioned by FIBA."

The efforts of two teams also yielded their own benefits for themselves.

Pasig is now ranked 27th in the world with their fifth-place finish, having beat Katara, 21-14 in just over eight minutes and upsetting Liman, 19-16, before bowing out to Riga Ghetto in the quarterfinals, 15-21.

The Kings have a chance to further improve these rankings with their participation in the Huaqiao International Kunshan Challenger this coming May 18-19. This particular Challenger is a qualifier to the Chengdu Masters, which is the second leg of the 3x3 World Tour.

Individually, Taylor Statham moved past teammate Joshua Munzon to be the top-ranked Filipino in 3x3.

Statham is now ranked 114th in the world with 349,080. Munzon is now 120th with 338,520.

Bataan's core duo of Alvin Pasaol and Leonard Santillan also rocketed up the standings, with Pasaol now 148th at 308,680 and Santillan at 221st 254,820.

FIBA has set some guidelines in order to secure berths in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with only seven available berths (as Japan claims one spot by serving as hosts).

Only the top 24 federations as of November 1 this year will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which as of the moment are composed of:

Men: Serbia, Russia, Slovenia, Latvia, Japan, China, Mongolia, United States, Netherlands, Qatar, Lithuania, Ukraine, Brazil, Romania, Poland, France, Estonia, Czech Republic, Canada, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Hungary, and Belarus (5,934,045). The Philippines is currently 30th with 5,196,380.

Women: China, Mongolia, Russia, Romania, France, Estonia, Japan, Ukraine, Netherlands, Hungary, Uruguay, Iran, Indonesia, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Brazil, Latvia, Belarus, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Spain, Turkmenistan, and Australia (985,332). The Philippines is currently 35th with 628,245.

In addition, National team pools are restricted to the top 10 players of each country in the FIBA 3x3 rankings. Players in the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 compose the top 21 3x3 Filipinos in the country as of the end of the President's Cup.