SANTA ROSA, LAGUNA – Manila Chooks! stunned Asia’s top ranked team Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy with a nail-biting 21-20 victory to advance to the semifinals of the Chooks-to-Go International Standalone Quest at the Ayala Mall Solenad here on Friday, Sept. 16.
The Filipinos leaned on the veteran presence of Chico Lanete who also serves as the Chooks-to-Go head trainer as he coolly sank the game clinching free throw after getting clipped on his last attempt.
Manila held its ground against the highly touted Mongolian squad riding the broad back of Henry Iloka all-game-long to finish with team-high eight points while Lanete added five points. Dave Ando and Dennis Santos had their share of the spotlight with four points each.
Manila lost to Zavkhan MMC Energy of Mongolia, 19-17 in its last assignment but that hardly mattered as they were already assured of a spot in the Final Four after finishing atop the group stage with a 2-1 record.
Manila earlier took down Kuala Lumpur Aseel, 21-14, to give the Filipinos in attendance something to cheer for after a sloppy start for the PH bets that saw both Cebu Chooks! and Butuan Chooks! drop their respective opening games.
Having a hard time to shake off Kuala Lumpur despite the stellar start from both Iloka and Santos, Lanete took charge in the latter part of the contest drilling three straight deuces to turn back the Malaysians and end the game with still 1:34 left in the clock.
Iloka finished with eight points while Lanete added seven.
Manila faces another Mongolian team Saizan MMC Energy which placed second in the Pool B after a pulsating 21-17 come-from-behind victory that denied the Cebu Chooks! a spot in the semis. Taking the lead for the majority of the match, the Mongolian took advantage of Cebu’s foul situation as Batsaikhan Altangerel and Nyamdorj Ganbatar scored the team’s last five points from the foul line.
Butuan, on the other hand finished dead last in the Pool B after going winless through three games.
In the other bracket, Ulaanbaatar takes on Saitama Alpha which lorded over the opposition in Pool B with a clean 3-0 record.