BY ABBY TORALBA
THE Manila Chooks! 3×3 squad is ready to rise to the challenge of making it to the Paris Olympics next year and be the first Philippine 3×3 basketball quarter to fly the flag in the Summer Games.
During a media session last Friday at the Chooks! dine-in restaurant at the Mall of Asia, Manila Chooks! players Mac Tallo, Matt Salem, Brandon Ramirez, Dennis Santos, CJ Payawal, Paul Desiderio, and Dave Ando expressed that they are hoping to represent the country in the Olympics.
“Hopefully kasi that’s the main goal, makapag-Olympics and siyempre iyong sinabi ko kanina as long as we keep on winning, we play more games, and malampasan namin iyong slot namin sa quarterfinals,” Tallo, the country’s No. 1 3×3 cager, said.
“Kasi mas malaki talaga iyong ibibigay na points kapag umabot kami ng semis, ng finals, especially kapag mag-champion. Projective is mid-season, pagaling na kami nang pagaling in terms of bodies,” he added.
Payawal echoed Tallo’s sentiments, saying: “I’m all for that. When I first heard that this will be an opportunity for us, it was something that really shocking to me because I would love to have that label, for sure we all want to have that label as an Olympian.”
Currently ranked No. 22 in the men’s category of the FIBA 3×3 rankings, the Manila Chooks 3×3! team is bidding to gain more points when it sees action in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters set on May 20 to 21 at the Glorietta Activity Center.
The competition is a FIBA level 10 tournament.
