Mac Tallo of Manila Chooks with one of his highlight moves of the game. Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 photo
Tallo stands tall in Manila Chooks’ victory over China
Chooks-to-Go Pilpinas 3×3 photo
CEBU City — Hometown hero Mac Tallo delivered the game-winning two-pointer and Manila Chooks came through with a dramatic 21-17 over Futian of China in the 2023 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters before a full house crowd at the picturesque SM Seaside City here Saturday.
Tallo’s clutch two-pointer in an intense and highly-physical battle did not only bring pride and joy to thousands of 3×3 fans mostly Cebuanos but also clinch a coveted spot in the quarterfinals of this prestigious two-day tournament for Manila Chooks.
And Tallo, the country’s top 3×3 player, was clearly the man of the hour.
“Siyempre ginawa namin ang lahat. Ang mentality namin mula kaninang umaga mag-cramps na tayo, kahit ma-injure tayo ibuhos na natin lahat kasi we never, I think it’s been a year na hindi kami nakapasok ng Day 2 ng mga tournaments,” said Tallo, who scored four of his nine points in the last two minutes for Manila Chooks.
”At ito na nga, finally, nakapasok na kami. Hopefully, yung momentum namin sa last game, madala namin bukas,” he added.
Marcus Hammonds provided solid support with five points and Cebu-based Tosh Sesay and Marquez Letcher-Ellis added four and three points, respectively.
The win in the same place where its Olympic dreams started back in 2019 served as redemption for an earlier setback, when head coach Chico Lanete’s team fell short 14-20 to Vienna from Austria in their opening match.
But the road gets only tougher.
Manila Chooks is set to face the top seed Ub Huishan of Serbia, which dominated Pool A with an unblemished 2-0 record in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the United States’ Miami team will go head-to-head with San Juan of Puerto Rico in what promises to be another electrifying match.
Miami, which boasts of a flawless 2-0 record in Pool D, and the Netherlands’ Amsterdam HiPRO, which remain undefeated in two games in Pool B.
Vienna of Austria, the frontrunner in Pool C, will face off against China’s Wuxi in another quarterfinal match.
Adding to a world-class entertainment to the day-long festivities is the Philippine rock band icon Sponge Cola, which graced the opening ceremonies highlighted by a heartwarming wedding proposal by the firm’s employee, Jason Acebuche, to Carmela Pacheco.
Tallo also made it to the final of the shootout side event, after scoring five points in just 26.4 seconds during the qualifying phase.
Not as fortunate was another Filipino bet, Lubao MCFASolver, which fell 17-21 to Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy of Mongolia.
Lubao also lost to Jimmer Fredette and Miami-USA, 22-15 in Pool D.
The scores:
Pool C
Manila Chooks! (21) – Tallo 9, Hammonds 5, Sesay 4, Letcher-Ellis 3.
Futian (17) – Van der Horst 10, Zhang 3, Guo 2, Chen 2.
