Chooks Pilipinas books quarters slot, beats Thailand’s Mono Vampire

Photo from Fiba.com

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas entered the quarterfinals after a 115-102 win over Mono Vampire of Thailand in the 2017 Fiba Asia Champions Cup Sunday at Chenzhou Sports Center in Chenzhou, China.

Carl Bryan Cruz had it going from the opening tip en route to a 28-point outing built on eight triples as the Philippines made a complete turnaround from its poor showing in a loss to Sareyyet Ramallah of Palestine on Saturday.

Firing on all cylinders, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas shot 14-of-28 from downtown to silence the reigning Thailand Basketball Super League champion.

Isaiah Austin dominated anew with 27 markers, 19 boards, and four blocks while Kiefer Ravena again took charge late as the 23-year-old guard poured in 14 of his 24 points in the payoff period.

He also finished with two rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Jeron Teng fired 17 markers and five boards, while LA Revilla nearly had a double-double with nine points, nine assists, and four rebounds.

The victory pushed Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas on top of Group A with a 2-1 record.

Chooks-to-Go looked like it was well on its way to another easy victory after taking a 103-90 lead after a Teng triple with 3:15 left, but Michael Singletary and Jason Brickman teamed up to cut the deficit to just seven, 109-102, with 31.1 seconds left.

But Revilla and Ravena were steady from the charity stripe, sinking four free throws before Austin punctuated the win with a thunderous windmill slam.

Singletary, a former PBA import who saw action for Barako Bull and San Miguel, paced Mono Vampire (1-1) with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, while the Fil-American Brickman had 17 markers, nine assists, and seven boards in the losing effort.

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas will wrap up its campaign in the group stages against Petrochimi of Iran on Tuesday.

The scores:

CHOOKS-TO-GO PILIPINAS 115 – Cruz 28, Austin 27, Ravena 24, Jero. Teng 17, Revilla 9, Manuel 3, Tamsi 3, Jose 2, Vosotros 2, Jeri. Teng 0, Torres 0.

MONO VAMPIRE 102 – Singletary 32, Brickman 17, Kruatiwa 17, Klahan 10, Apiromvilaichai 8, Sunthonsiri 7, Phuangla 6, Sekteera 3, Chanthachon 2, Boonyai 0.

Quarters: 31-22, 57-51, 81-77, 115-101.