PENANG, MALAYSIA – Cebu Chooks punched a ticket into the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Penang Challenger with a sound 18-15 win over Zavkhan MMC Energy of Mongolia in Group A action Saturday at the Queensbay Mall. Waiting for the top Filipino squad in the next round is heavyweight Princeton of the United States which topped Group C.
The Mongolians raced to a 5-0 lead but the Pinoys came roaring back to knot the score at 8-8 behind Mark Jayven Tallo and Brandon Ramirez.
Zavkhan slightly recovered to lead anew, 12-9, but Tallo hit for four straight two-points and restore the edge to Cebu, 17-12, and 1:23 to play. That proved enough as they held on for the crucial win and eliminate the Mongolians.
The quarterfinal berth remained secure despite Cebu bowing to top seed Liman in their second game, 21-9. The Serbian powerhouse opened the tournament with a 21-11 drubbing of Zavkhan.
Liman banked on big games from Miroslav Pasajlic and Aleksandar Ratkov who combined for 16 points. Ramirez was the lone bright spot for Cebu with five points.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals were NY Harlem of the United States and Paris of France in Group B, Utsunomiya Brex of Japan in Group C and Belgrade Partizan of Serbia and Saitama of Japan in Group D. The top two finishers of the Penang Challenger will earn slots at the Paris Masters set for October 8 and 9.
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