Manila Chooks won two of three games in thrilling fashion to reach the quarterfinals of the FIBA 3x3 Super Quest held Friday, May 6 at the UB Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Dennis Santos’ layup sealed Manila’s 21-20 comeback win over Mongolia’s Zaisan before bouncing back from a 21-14 loss to Zavkhan by sneaking past Sansar with a 19-18 win on Chico Lanete’s basket in the dying seconds.
The 2-1 slate in Pool B was enough for Manila, composed of Santos, Lanete, Nigerian big man Henry Iloka and Ron Dennison, to arrange a quarterfinal clash against Japanese side Yokohama on Saturday.
Cebu Chooks, winner of last week’s Super Quest in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, also advanced despite going 1-2 in Pool B.
Mac Tallo, Zach Huang, Brandon Ramirez and Mike Nzeusseu drubbed Mongolia’s Amgalan with a 21-10 decision, but Cebu lost its next two assignments.
Cebu suffered a 21-10 loss to Yokohama before falling short against host Ulaanbaatar via the same score.
Slated Saturday for Cebu is a quarterfinal meeting with Zavkhan, with the winner advancing to the semis.
Mongolian squads Ulaanbaatar and Zaisan gained outright semis berths by virtue of topping their respective pools.