Manila Chooks! put up a valiant stand against reigning Summer Olympics champion and world no. 3 Riga of Latvia, falling by just a solitary point 18-19 to open the festivities in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 NEOM Super Quest in Saudi Arabia.
The huge quartet of Henry Iloka, Dennis Santos, Ken Holmqvist, and Dave Ando looked dead in the water, falling behind 6-16 with 2:33 left.
Santos though heated up from deep, knocking down four deuces in a blistering 13-3 end-game spurt.
During the rally, Iloka converted on a layup and a stop led to a Santos deuce to cut the lead down to one, 19-18.
However, the clock was the only thing that could cool down Manila as time expired on them.
World no. 4 Nauris Miezis led Riga with eight points and four rebounds while Karlis Lasmanis added seven markers.
PH no. 5 Santos finished the game with nine points built on four deuces while Iloka added seven markers. Holmqvist also got two points and five rebounds.
In the second game, Manila Chooks! lost to Warsaw, 21-16 (6:47).
Again, Manila trailed early, falling behind 11-3 as Przemyslaw Zamojski caught fire, knocking down four deuces in the first seven minutes of the game.
The troika of Iloka, Santos, and Ando did not go down easily, slicing the lead to three, 19-16, with 3:43 left.
Zamojski though did not cool down, knocking down the game-winning deuce to seal their ticket to the next round.
Riga went on to sweep pool A, defeating Warsaw 22-9.
Also advancing to the next round of this tournament that has one ticket to the Hong Kong Masters at stake are Vienna, Ulaanbaatar, NY Harlem, Antwerp, Jeddah, and Paris.
The Scores:
First Game:
Riga 19 – Miezis 8, Lasmanis 7, Krumins 3, Čavars 1.
Manila 18 – Santos 9, Iloka 7, Holmqvist 2, Ando 1
Second Game:
Warsaw 21 – Zamojski 12, Bierwagen 6, Rduch 2, Diduszko 1.
Manila 16 – Iloka 7, Santos 5, Ando 4, Holmqvist 0.
