Two months ago, Alvin Pasaol gave Balanga Chooks-to-Go its moment.
Down to just three healthy bodies, Balanga stunned the highly-touted Moscow Inanomo with Pasaol knocking down the buzzer-beater in overtime. That shot gave Pasig a sweep of the 2019 FIBA 3X3 World Tour Doha Masters’ group stage.
Moreover, Pasaol had an iconic moment afterward as he slit his throat towards a fan that had heckled him all throughout the game.
On Friday, Balanga takes on Moscow once again. This time around, they will meet in the qualifiers of the 2019 Tinkoff Moscow Challenger.
And the 24-year-old can’t wait to face the Russians once again.
“Sobrang excited ako na makalaban sila ulit. Ipapa-feel namin sa kanila ulit yung nangyari sa Doha,” the burly scorer said about the match-up that takes place at 8:20 pm.
“Hindi kami magpapaisa sa kanila kahit homecourt nila. Hindi kami magpapatinag.”
However, the non-experience of Balanga in playing against topflight 3×3 clubs plagued the team the next day in Doha as they were victims of a romp at the hands of Liman that effectively ended their campaign.
This time around, Pasaol and the rest of Balanga worked extra hard on their conditioning as they are set to face Moscow and Odessa in order to move on to the tournament proper.
“Last week, maganda yung pinakita ng team. Kailangan namin mag-get in shape dahil kailangan ng katulong ni Travis [Franklin],” shared the number two-ranked player in the Philippines.
“Ready naman kami sa kahit anong challenge na ibibigay nila sa amin.”
And Pasaol can’t wait to shock the world once again.
