THE Manila Chooks pulled off all the stops in the endgame to emerge victorious over Ludhiana INBL, 21-17, in the qualifying draw of the Chooks-to-Go 3x3 Cebu Masters on Saturday afternoon at the SM Seaside City Cebu Mountain Wing.
It was a close game with Manila Chooks ahead by just two, 17-15. However, Ludhiana tied it all up at 17-all with a long two-pointer. Sensing trouble, Manila Chooks’ big man Henry Iloka took over, scoring on a slam dunk while getting fouled.
With Ludhiana in the penalty situation, Iloka also sank two free-throws to put Manila Chooks ahead, 20-17. After getting a stop, Iloka then finished the game off, scoring inside off a great pocket pass by veteran guard Chico Lañete.
Only one team will advance to the main draw of the tournament, joining Pool D.
The Scores:
Manila 21 - Iloka 10, Holmqvist 5, Lanete 5, Santos 1.
Ludhiana 17 - Ludhiana 6, Singh 6, Sandhu 5, Karan 0.
Time: 9:18 (Iloka)