Local Bets Fall In Cebu Masters

    CEBU CITY – Top seed Antwerp of Belgium lived up to their lofty billing and took down local heroes Cebu Chooks, 16-11, to kick off the 2022 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters at the SM Seaside City Sunday (October 1).  Later in the day, Omaha 3Ball of the United States formally eliminated Cebu, 21-14, leaving the weekend mall crowd stunned.

Against the Belgians, Mark Jayven Tallo and Mike Harry Nzeusseu built and early 3-2 lead but that proved to be their best effort.  Antwerp leaned on the unheralded pair of Dennis Donkor and Bryan de Valck to pull away as superstars Thibaut Vervoort and Nick Celis took the backseat.

De Valck topped Antwerp with nine points followed by Donkor with four.  Tallo and Nzeusseu carried Cebu with five points each while Brandon Ramirez put in the other point.

It was basically the same story versus the Americans as Cebu jumped to the 4-2 lead behind Tallo, Nzeusseu and Ramirez but Omaha came storming back through Malik Hluchoweckyj and Trey Bardsley who fittingly hit a long two to grab the lead for good, 8-6.

Hluchoweckyj paced Omaha with nine points.  Nzeusseu was the lone bright spot for Cebu with eight points as Tallo and Ramirez fired blanks for three points each.

Meanwhile, the other Filipino entry Manila Chooks failed to survive the qualifying round and succumbed to Doha QSC of Qatar, 21-16.  The Qataris leaned on crisp two-point shooting to lead from start to finish and Manila failed to capitalize on the opposition’s foul trouble as the match ended with 44 ticks on the clock.

Both teams entered the match registering wins over eliminated Ludhiana INBL of India thus rendering it a knockout affair.  Against the Indians, Manila won, 21-17, while Doha eked out the 17-15 victory.

Ken Sagulo Holmqvist proved to be a worthy last-minute replacement for the injured Dave Ando as he starred against Ludhiana with five points the erected their biggest lead, 15-9.  Henry Iloka was a force underneath for Manila with 10 points but their luck ran out against Doha.

Amidst the heartaches, the Philippine campaign had some consolation with Lanete and Tallo qualifying for Sunday’s Two-Point Shootout Finals.  Lanete missed only once in 10 balls to top the 14-man field followed by fellow qualifiers Vervoort (7), Tallo (6) and Steve Sir of Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy (6).