TWO Filipino teams will try to protect home court as the 2022 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters tip off this weekend at Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
Ken Holmqvist in Fiba 3x3 Manila Masters
Mac Tallo leads Cebu Chooks as he pairs up with Zach Huang, Brandon Ramirez, and import Mike Nzeusseu while Manila Chooks will rely on Chico Lanete, Ken Holmqvist, Dennis Santos, and reinforcement Henry Iloka.
Cebu will be in a tough Pool A against world No. 1 club Ub Huishan NE of Serbia and Zavkhan MMC Energy of Mongolia, while Manila is slotted in Pool D against Mongolian clubs Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy and Zaisan MMC Energy.
Completing the 14-team field are Serbia’s Liman Huishan NE, Poland’s Warsaw Lotto, and India's Gurugram 3BL for Pool C; as well as Antwerp of Belgium and Sansar MMC Energy of Mongolia for Pool B.
One last spot is up for grabs with the qualifying draw featuring Japan’s Yokohama, New Zealand’s Auckland and Australia’s Melbourne.
This will be the first time in seven years that the country will host a Masters club tournament after Manila Masters in 2015 saw the Dusan Bulut-led Novi Sad Al Wahda edged Calvin Abueva's Manila North in the Final.
Manila is also the second stop in this year's World Tour after Utsunomiya earlier this month.
Cebu will also host another Masters in October before the World Tour Final in Abu Dhabi in December.
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