CHICO Lanete buried the game-winning deuce as Manila Chooks TM outlasted Doha, 21-20, in the qualifying draw of the 2021 Fiba 3x3 World Tour Doha Masters on Friday at Al Gharafa Sports Complex in Qatar.
The 41-year-old veteran played the hero's roleas the underdog Filipino squad pulled off the great escape against the hosts to salvage a split of their first two games after a 22-17 loss to Austrian side Graz.
Despite the win, Manila failed to progress to the main draw after Graz schooled Doha, 21-5.
Manila Chooks TM earlier suffered the same fate at the hands of the Austrians, 22-17, with 16.9 ticks to spare in the tour's curtain raiser. The Filipinos needed Doha to beat Graz by six to reach the main draw.
Lanete poured six points in the victory as Manila Chooks TM survived the overtime period after Mac Tallo tied the game at 19 with six seconds left in regulation.
Doha still had a chance to take the win, but Souley Ndour's hook shot hit the back iron at the end of regulation.
Dennis Santos was a revelation for the Manila side as the former St. Clare forward scored nine points while Tallo added four.
Graz star Matthias Linortner was on fire with his 12 points built on three deuces against Manila Chooks. Moritz Lanegger added six, none bigger than his game-winning two-pointer.
Graz shook off an early 8-4 deficit and responded with an 11-2 blast to seize a 15-10 lead and eventually deliver the haymakers late.
Tallo paced No. 14 seed Manila in that loss with seven points as it bowed out of the competition 13th out of 14 teams, easily the worst performance of a Filipino team in any Masters tournament.
After going 2-0 in the qualifying draw, Graz will head on to Pool D to face American teams world No. 4 NY Harlem and world No. 5 Princeton.
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