CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3 spewed fire in the crucial stages to outlast Indonesia, 21-17 (7:02), and claim the Jakarta 3×3 International Invitational Challenge title Saturday night.
After a 17-all deadlock, Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol teamed up to fend off the hard-fighting hosts.
Munzon, the top 3×3 player in the Philippines, drove hard to the basket and followed it up with a defensive stop.
Pasaol then, scored on a putback off Munzon’s miss and drew Indonesia’s seventh foul to send him to the line to shoot two free throws for the game-winning point.
“We offer this title to our countrymen, this is for them,” said Chooks to Go 3X3 program director Eric Altamirano about the team’s five-game sweep of the tournament that the Indonesian federation Perbasi hosted as part of its Southeast Asian Games preparation.
“Secondly, we are preparing for the OQT (Olympic Qualifying Tournament). This is a really good tournament to start and I’m really proud of the boys.”
Pasaol finished with 10 points while Munzon added seven. Santi Santillan added three points while Troy Rike had one.