Chooks Philippine 3x3 team lands in Qatar for FIBA World Tour

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Chooks TM’s Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike and Santi Santillan completed all the requirements in the last minute to arrive in Doha, Qatar where they will see action in the 2020 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Doha Masters set this weekend.

“The spirit of bayanihan was truly alive,” said Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 league owner Ronald Mascarinas, who thanked FIBA 3x3’s Ignacio Soriano and Valentina Mattioli and the Qatar Ministry for their assistance in securing all the team’s necessary requirements in time.

The squad, which will still be minus newly acquired coach Aldin Ayo because his contract will start only on December 1, left the country late Sunday and arrived Monday.

Upon landing, the quartet will undergo testing and a mandatory room quarantine in their hotels and will be allowed to go out and practice as soon as their test results arrive.

“We’re born ready and confident because of our experience in Calamba,” said team captain Pasaol referring to the President’s Cup where their team, then called Family’s Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City won the event.

“We learned to be patient and persistence there, we learn how to play under pressure,” he added.

The Filipinos will face a tough field composed of Liman and UB of Serbia, Riga of Latvia, NY Harlem and Princeton of the United States, Lausanne of Switzerland, Jeddah and Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, Kamakura and Yoyogi of Japan, Bielefeld of Germany, Utana of Lithuania and home team Lusail.