Chooks Pilipinas bounces back, nips Thai club team

MANILA, Philippines — Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas defeated Mono Vampire of Thailand, 115-102, to bounce back from a Saturday setback and improve to 2-1 in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in China Sunday.
 

The Filipinos trailed the Thais twice early after the opening salvo, but that’s the only time that Chooks sat in the backseat.
 

Behind Carl Bryan Cruz’s 28 and Isaiah Austin’s 27 points, the Filipinos wrested the lead and dictated the tempo until the final buzzer. Kiefer Ravena added 24 more.
 

Michael Singletary, a former PBA import, paced Mono Vampire with 32 points. Part-Filipino Jason Brickman and Ratdech Kruatiwa chimed in 17 each to help keep the game within reach.
 

But the Filipinos were simply too much as they shot better from the field, the distance and the charity stripe. As if those weren’t telling enough, Chooks outclassed Mono in virtually every statistical category except steals and offensive rebounds. 
 

Telling numbers: Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas bested Mono in almost every statistical category. #FIBAAsiaCC pic.twitter.com/RtXOd1G28C

— Denison Dalupang (@sonrd) September 24, 2017

The victory came just hours after the Filipinos narrowly fell to Sareyyet Ramallah of Palestine, 82-89.
 

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas’ will take a break on Monday before colliding with Petrochimi of Iran on Tuesday.