Joshua Munzon and Taylor Statham showed why they are the top two 3×3 players in the country, towing Pasig Chooks to a dominant 21-14 win over host team Katara, Thursday evening (Manila time) at the Katara Amphitheatre in Doha, Qatar.
The win assured Pasig Chooks a spot in the knockout playoffs in the 2019 FIBA 3X3 World Tour Masters Doha as Katara dropped to 0-2 in Pool A. Katara fell to Liman earlier in the day 11-22.
Statham, the country’s no. 2 player, scored nine points while reigning Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup MVP Munzon added seven points.
Pasig’s early rally was sparked by Statham and capped by back-to-back deuces by Munzon to give the Philippine-side a 13-5 lead.
The lead would only go down to as low as four points, 15-11.
Munzon and Statham would then take turns with the latter sealing the deal with a soft floater for match-point.
Serbian import Nikola Pavlovic and French reinforcement Angelo Tsagarakis chipped in three and two markers, respectively.
Aaron Mitchell had nine points to lead the hosts.
Pasig Chooks will next face top club team in the world Liman at 12:25 am. The game will decide who will enter the playoffs on Friday, April 19 as the top dog in Pool A.
The Scores:
Pasig Chooks 21 — Statham 9, Munzon 7, Pavlovic 3, Tsagarakis 2.
Katara 14 — Mitchell 9, Fadi 3, Saad 2, Magassa 0.
