By REYNALD MAGALLON
CEBU CITY – USA’s Omaha gave Cebu Chooks! the boot following a 21-17 victory over the hometown bet in the final match of the Pool A action in the 2022 Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters before a good-sized crowd at the SM Seaside City here on Saturday, Oct. 2.
The Filipinos simply had no answer to the size and accurate sniping of the US-based team, especially with Malik Hluchoweckyj leading the assault with nine points to help Omaha pick up the crucial victory that enabled them to advance to the next round of the tournament.
Looking to bounce back from its opening game defeat at the hands of the top seed Antwerp, Cebu put up a gallant stand and actually held its own against Omaha in the first few minutes, even forcing a 6-6 count almost midway through the game.
The Americans, though, took their game a notch higher from there, unleashing a deciding 10-4 run to push Cebu to a 16-10 hole which proved to be too deep for the Filipinos to climb up from.
Hopes of a possible comeback was then completely dashed with 1:29 left in the contest with Hluchoweckyj and Trey Bardsley delivering back-to-back hits which hammered down the final nail in the coffin for Cebu.
Cebu, led by Mac Tallo along with Harry Nzeusseu, Brandon Ramirez and Zach Huang, had a promising start to the tournament after holding its own against the world No. 3 and tournament top seed Antwerp in the opening game, 16-11.
Tallo dazzled in willing the hometown bets back into the match after falling behind by four twice, but his efforts were not enough as Dennis Donkor dashed their hopes after striking the dagger with 31.5 seconds left.
Tallo finished with five points and five rebounds, including back-to-back highlight-worthy assists to Mike Harry Nzeusseu that brought the squad to within just two, 13-11, with 1:15 remaining in the game.
That, unfortunately, was the closest Cebu could get as buckets were hard to come by. Antwerp then went on to flex its experience, with Donkor nailing a tough fall away jumper as the shot clock expired – a huge hit that ultimately broke the spirits and slammed the door on Cebu’s comeback hopes.
