Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas owner Ronald Mascariñas appears to be hurting following the “dramatic” exit of head trainer Aldin Ayo, but vowed to “move on.”
Last Wednesday, Ayo said he was stepping down from the team to take care of his ailing mother.
But to the surprise of everybody, hours after denying stories he was set to call the shots for Converge in the PBA, he was in the news again.
This time, telling everyone that he finally got his blessing from his mother who wanted to see him in the PBA after a fruitful, albeit controversial run in the collegiate ranks.
And that’s the reason why Mascariñas is set to meet the team this weekend for a heart-to-heart talk.
Members of the pool are Mac Tallo, Zach Huang, Chico Lanete, Dennis Santos, Brandon Ramirez, Ken Holmqvist, Dave Ando, Mike Nzeusseu, and Henry Iloka.
“We do not see it as a setback. We will continue to take good care of our players and give them everything they need as they continue their journey in the global FIBA 3×3 pro circuit,” said Mascariñas.
Lanete has been named as the interim head trainer of the team.
Since July, the team has never stopped training, even competing in the Lipik Challenger.
Scheduled for the rest of the year are hosting a couple of Super Quests and the Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 Cebu Masters and more international tournaments.
Mascariñas also looks to rejig the organization by adding more tall and skilled players, as well as assistants and a foreign consultant to help Lanete in his first foray in coaching.
“We are currently in the process of adding more players to our pool and giving Coach Chico everything he needs as our leader,” said Mascariñas. “This will not stop us in our mission of gaining valuable FIBA 3×3 points for the country in hopes of making it to the Paris Olympics in 2024.”