TAYLOR Statham stepped up big for Pasig Chooks as it sent world no. 1 Liman crashing back to earth with a 19-16 stunner to top Pool A in the Doha Masters in the 2019 Fiba 3x3 World Tour at Katara Amphitheatre in Qatar early Friday morning (Manila time).
The Fil-Am forward anchored the President's Cup champions with nine points, including the final two points in the last minute to seal the deal and complete the 2-0 romp.
Serbian reinforcement Nikola Pavlovic buried the booming two-pointer that broke the 14-all deadlock, before Joshua Munzon went strong on the drive to make it a 17-14 lead in the final minute.
Stefan Kojic tried to make things interesting for the Serbs when he canned his freebies, but that was when Statham put his foot down and locked up the win for Pasig Chooks.
Pavlovic and Munzon both finished with four points each, while French import Angelo Tsagarakis had one.
Pasig Chooks' victory sealed off a memorable pool play performance for the Filipinos, with Balanga Chooks also topping Pool C for the knockout playoffs.
Aleksandar Ratkov paced Liman with six points in the defeat.
Liman missed the services of the world's second-best 3x3 player Stefan Stojacic, who is nursing an injured right calf that cost him the Doha tilt.
The Scores:
PASIG CHOOKS 19 -- Statham 9, Munzon 4, Pavlovic 4, Tsagarakis 2.
LIMAN 16 -- Ratkov 6, Vasic 5, Kojic 3, Kovacevic 2.
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