CHOOKS-to-Go President and team owner Ronald Mascariñas gave the charges of head trainer Chico Lanete plaudits after their campaign in the FIBA 3X3 Pro League Netherlands 2023 Winter Edition in Amsterdam.
“This all-Filipino line-up exceeded all expectations, and they rallied behind Brandon (Ramirez) when he got injured, which showed how much this team has developed as a unit,” Mascariñas said.
“CJ (Payawal) and Matt (Salem) proved that they deserve to play for the country together with Mac (Tallo) and Dennis (Santos),” he added.
Manila Chooks! became the first team in Philippine 3×3 history to advance to three straight quarterfinals in an international FIBA 3×3 tilt.
Chooks’ sustained efforts enabled the Philippines to move one spot higher — from world No. 20 to No. 19 — with 1,046,227 points, counting 80,210 points from the Amsterdam joust, to boost its bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.
Payawal amassed 20,930 ranking points in the meet that had four stops to emerge as No. 12 in the rankings while Salem totaled 12,870 points to make it to the top 30.
Mascariñas said the best is yet to come for the squad, which is set to hit the ground running anew for the Super Quest in Ulaanbaatar from April 22 to 23.
“Three quarterfinal appearances and elevating our world ranking to No. 19 pretty much checked all the boxes in my list of expectations,” the amiable executive and godfather of the 3×3 play in the country said.
“The more this team improves and learns to trust the process laid out by coach Chico, the more they will be a force to reckon with in the coming pro circuit.”
