CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Philippines-Chooks 3×3 climbed to the 19th spot in the world rankings after its campaign in the Fiba 3×3 Pro League Netherlands 2023 Winter Edition in Amsterdam.
Despite not winning it all, Chooks amassed 1,046,227 points after gaining 80,210 points from the tilt to boost its bid to qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics.
Chooks got bounced in the quarterfinals for the third straight time but the efforts of Matt Salem and CJ Payawal didn’t go unnoticed.
Payawal got 20,930 ranking points in the event after four games to rise as Philippine No. 12 while Salem upped his value with 12,870 points to make it to the Top 30.
“CJ (Payawal) and Matt (Salem) proved that they deserve to play for the country together with Mac (Tallo) and Dennis (Santos),” said Chooks-to-Go team owner and president Ronald Mascariñas.
“Three quarterfinals appearances and elevating our world ranking to No. 19 pretty much checked all the boxes in my list of expectations.”
Mascariñas also credited Chooks coach Chico Lanete and how he handled the squad in the event even after losing big man Brandon Ramirez due to a knee injury early in the tournament.
“The more this team improves and learns to trust the process laid out by coach Chico, the more they will be a force to reckon with in the coming pro circuit,” he explained.
The team’s next assignment is the Super Quest in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia set next month.