CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Pasig Chooks-to-Go suffered a pair of tough losses just two hours apart in its campaign in the 2019 FIBA 3X3 Kunshan Challenger.
After losing to Russia’s Sosnovy Bor on a game winner, Pasig failed to regroup and got manhandled in a must-win duel.
The Philippine-based club team was shown the door by Liman, the third-ranked club in the world, 12-22, Saturday evening at Huaqiao International Service Business Park in Kunshan, China.
With a 0-2 record, Pasig Chooks bowed out early in Pool A as Liman (2-0) and Sosnovy Bor (1-1) advanced to the knockout playoffs on Sunday that will determine the last two entries in the World Tour Chengdu Masters.
Pasig got off to a fast start after taking a 3-0 lead before the Serbian side imposed its will, going on a 14-3 blitz to put the defending Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup champions away.
Joshua Munzon and Taylor Statham tried to get Pasig in the thick of things but Liman simply had too much firepower with the quartet of world No. 4 Aleksandar Ratkov, No. 5 Mihailo Vasic, No. 8 Stefan Kojic, and Maksim Kovacevic in the fray.
Vasic ended the contest with a long deuce with 2:13 to spare to end Pasig’s campaign.
Munzon and Statham were the only players to score for Pasig as they finished with six points each.
Kojic, who scored just four points during their encounter in the Doha Masters, led the balanced Liman attack with eight.