Chooks 3x3 team sweeps Jakarta invitational

It's a sweep for Chooks-To-Go All-Stars. Chooks-To-Go
By Dugout Philippines

JAKARTA—Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 pulled out all the stops in the endgame to outlast host Indonesia and win the Jakarta 3x3 International Invitational Challenge 2019, 21-17 (7:02), Saturday evening.

"Unang-una, inaalay natin ito sa ating mga kababayan. It's for them," said Chooks-to-Go 3x3 program director Eric Altamirano about the team's five-game sweep of this tournament hosted by Indonesian federation PERBASI as part of their Southeast Asian Games prep.

"Secondly, we are preparing for the OQT. This is a good tournament to start. I'm really proud of the boys."

And this was a good test for the Philippine-side as it played five games in a span of four hours.

In the finale, Indonesia gave the Philippines a good challenge as the game was tied at 17-all with 3:17 remaining.

Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol though did not allow an upset to take place.

Munzon, the top 3x3 player of the country, powered his way to the paint for the go-ahead bucket. On the other end, he was able to force an Indonesian player to the outside for a stop.

Though Munzon missed on a tough layup in the next possession, Pasaol was able to score on a putback plus the harm.

With Indonesia already having seven fouls, the former UE Red Warrior was awarded two free throws.

Pasaol knocked down both free throws with 2:58 left, the latter serving as championship point.

Pasaol tallied a game-high 10 points while Munzon finished with seven.

Santi Santillan chipped in three points while Troy Rike had one.

Chooks 3x3 began the day with a quick 21-10 (6:08) win over world no. 40 Chinese-Taipei. They would then defeat SEA Games-bound squads Malaysia (21-17 - 7:04), Indonesia (21-13 - 9:13), and Vietnam (19-14) to sweep the elims.

Follow the site on Twitter: @DugoutPH