CEBU City will become the battleground of the best 3x3 basketball players in the entire world as the 2023 Chooks-to-Go Fiba 3x3 World Tour Cebu Masters hits town on Sept. 23 at the SM Seaside City Cebu.
Expected to hold the homecourt is Manila Chooks, which will be led by Cebuano hoops ace Macmac Tallo. He will be joined by former University of Cebu foreign student-athlete Tosh Sesay, Marcus Hammonds, and Marquez Letcher-Ellis.
Tallo is convinced the new-look Manila Chooks! team will be no pushover despite the adversities.
“Kailangan talaga namin mag-adjust sa team after the sudden injuries nila Paul and Dennis. Pinilit talaga nila maglaro pero hindi talaga gumaling in time ang tuhod ni Paul and medical condition ni Dennis,” Tallo said.
“Thankful din ako na nag-step up si Quez, Tosh and Marcus kasi matagal ko na sila nakakalaro and aligned kami sa gustong ma-achieve ng team dito sa Cebu Masters. We will play hard,” he added.
The tough 14-team field includes a who’s-who of 3x3 basketball led by top seed Ub Huishan of Serbia, The Netherlands’ Amsterdam HiPRO, and Vienna of Austria.
Ub Huishan has the top three 3x3 players in the entire world led by Strahinja Stojacic, Dejan Mastorovic, and Marko Brankovic.
The United States’ Miami side will be anchored by former NBA player Jimmer Fredette.
Other fancied Asian teams in the Cebu Masters include Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy and Sansar MMC Energy and Futian of China.
The champion will take home $40,000, with the runner-up settling for $30,000. / JNP