Tallo, Huang upbeat on playing before home fans

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebuano basketball stars Mac Tallo and Zac Huang are all pumped up to showcase their skills before their home fans as they banner Cebu Chooks’ campaign in the highly anticipated 2022 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3x3 World Tour Cebu Masters slated on October 1-2 at the SM Seaside City.

Tallo, who is the first and only cager in Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) history to win the season MVP award both in high school and college, and Huang, a former champion player with the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, arrived in the Queen City of the South last Tuesday together with their teammates Brandon Ramirez, Vince Tolentino, and Mike Nzeusseu.

Also in town are Manila Chooks’ Chico Lanete, Dennis Santos, Henry Iloka, Dave Ando, and Ken Holmqvist.

By virtue of being the host, Cebu was given wild card in the main draw of the top-level tournament while Manila was granted a qualifying draw spot for being the second-ranked team in the country.

For the country’s top 3x3 player Tallo, going back to his beloved hometown might be the thing they needed to snap out of their funk.

“Change of scenery ito, eh. Siyempre hometown namin ni Zach to,” said Tallo. “Baka ito na yung kailangan namin as a team.”

It wouldn’t just be a homecoming for Tallo and Huang though as there is a lot of work to be done with the squad still feeling the sting of their fifth-place finish in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 International Standalone Quest last Friday.

“Bago kami umalis, sinabi ko sa boys na hindi ito bakasyon. Todo trabaho kami dito hanggang September 30,” said head trainer Chico Lanete.

Meanwhile, Iloka and Manila plan to not take the opportunity given to them for granted.

“Just grateful,” said Iloka as they were just one win away from being in the final of the Chooks 3x3 Quest. “We were down after the Quest but this opportunity gave us a new lease in life. Really thankful to FIBA and our Boss (Ronald Mascariñas) for this opportunity.”

Cebu Chooks and Manila Chooks will be training around the city, holding sessions at the Cebu City Sports Center, City Sports Club, and Cebu Eastern College (CEC) gym this week.

They need that rigid training regimen as they go up against tough squads in the Cebu Masters that includes Belgium’s Antwerp, Latvia’s Riga, the Netherlands’ Amsterdam, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, Switzerland’s Lausanne, Mongolia’s Sansar, USA’s Omaha, Japan’s Utsunomiya and Saitama, India’s Ludhiana, Qatar’s Doha, and Ulaanbaatar.