Chico Lanete scored a clutch deuce to lift Manila Chooks to a 21-20 (8:22) victory over Japan’s Yokohama Beefman in the quarterfinals of the Ulaanbaatar FIBA 3×3 Super Quest, Saturday at UB Palace in Mongolia.
Figuring in a nip-and-tuck affair that saw both teams exchange leads at a furious pace, it was the 42-year-old Lanete who stepped up.
Down 20-19 with 1:38 left, Lanete knocked down a cold-blooded deuce to seal Manila’s place in this Level 8-FIBA 3×3 tournament that has two tickets to the 2022 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters at stake.
Lanete ended up with six points on two deuces.
Henry Iloka got 10 points to lead the way for Manila while Dennis Santos added five markers.
Alexis Minatoya, who put Yokohama at matchpoint just seconds before Lanete’s winner, paced his side with seven points.
Tatsuhito Noro and Lazar Popovic added five points each.
Manila will next face Zaisan MMC Energy in the semifinals. In the Asia Pacific Super Quest last Saturday, Manila defeated the very same team, 21-17.
Earlier, Cebu Chooks bowed to Mongolia’s Zavkhan MMC Energy, 20-17, to fall out of the tournament.
Tserenbaatar Enkhtaivan and Avirmed Lhagvaa led the way for Zavkhan with seven and six points, respectively.
Mike Nzeusseu got 10 points and six rebounds while Mac Tallo added five points in the loss.
Zavkhan faces Ulaanbaatar in the other bracket.
The Scores:
QF 1:
Zavkhan 20 – Enkhtaivan 7, Lhagvaa 6, Bayarsaikhan 5, Tsermaa 2.
Cebu 17 – Nzeusseu 10, Tallo 5, Ramirez 2, Huang 0.
QF 2:
Manila 21 – Iloka 10, Lanete 6, Santos 5, Dennison 0.
Yokohama 20 – Minatoya 7, Popovic, 5, Noro 5, Hall 3.
Time: Lanete 2 (8:22)
