ISABELA City Chooks aims for redemption as plays in the MMC Sukhbaatar Challenger in Mongolia on Friday.
Philippines No. 8 Franky Johnson and Gab Banal will join resident import Marcus Hammonds and former Wake Forest forward Aaron Rountree as the Patriot's Cup champions eyes a rebound after bowing out of the Qualifying Draw of last week's Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger.
Isabela will have to play at its best as it has its work cut out for it in Pool A against world No. 1 Novi Sad of Serbia and No. 22 Ventspils Ghetto of Latvia.
At stake is qualification to the 2019 Fiba 3x3 World Tour Jeddah Masters, to be held on October 18 and 19.
For Johnson, this stint means more after visa issues prevented him from joining his side in the Haining Challenger last June.
"This will be my first time representing the country and I'm really excited about that," said the Fil-Am guard. "We know that it will be really physical. The team got some good experience in China and I got a lot of tips from them."
In the process, it also bodes well for the management's aim to "redefine Basilan" through sports, as related by team manager Jackson Chua.
"Nakikilala na through sports yung Basilan. With this tournament, sana ma-reach pa namin yung Filipinos abroad and change their perspective about us," he said.
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