MANILA CHOOKS TM plunges back into action after a six-month break in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Montreal Masters from September 4-5, 2021.

The squad’s first tournament since the Doha Masters last March, Manila Chooks TM is seeded 11th among the 12 teams in Montreal.

“They have been ready since May but unfortunately their Croatian visas did not make it in time for the FIBA 3×3 Lipik Challenger.”said Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas.

Manila Chooks TM is made up of Mac Tallo, Zach Huang, Dennis Santos and newcomer Mark Yee, with Chico Lanete serving as the alternate.

“The team is hungry to redeem themselves,” said Mascariñas.

“There have been a lot of challenges faced by the team brought about by the current pandemic but we are confident that frequent participation in the FIBA 3×3 pro circuit will only make the team stronger,” he added.

Due to the heightened quarantine restrictions, head trainer Aldin Ayo’s squad has been limited to online training for the past month.

“With regards to conditioning, there will be no problem as we made sure that the players figured in high-intensity workouts,” said Ayo. “The chemistry will also be there since the team has been together for three months already.

“But the tournament itself is a different beast. With the limitations that we have, we studied a lot of films on our possible opponents and we are hoping that the preparations translate to winning games,” he added.

World No. 2 Riga of Latvia headlines the field along with No. 4 Ub of Serbia, No. 7 Amsterdam of the Netherlands, No. 8 Antwerp of Belgium, and No. 10 Edmonton of Canada.

Completing the field are USA’s Princeton, Switzerland’s Lausanne, Lithuania’s Raudondvaris, Canada’s Old Montreal, USA’s Omaha, and one more team that will gain qualification via a Quest event.

The players will undergo RT-PCR tests on tomorrow and will leave the country the following day.

“We are hoping for a good result in Montreal as this tournament will be the starting point for our domestic season,” said Mascariñas.