Doha—Will Aldin Ayo’s Mayhem system work in the halfcourt?
It will be put to the test on Friday as the new-look Manila Chooks TM takes on the world’s best and finest 3×3 basketball players in the 2021 FIBA 3X3 World Tour Doha Masters.
Composing Manila Chooks TM in this max level FIBA 3×3 tournament are Chico Lanete, Mac Tallo, Zachy Huang, and Dennis Santos.
Manila Chooks TM’s campaign begins in the qualifying draw stage that will see them take on Austria’s Graz at 7:30 p.m. before facing Qatar’s Doha at 8:05 p.m.
The Philippine-side will be at a disadvantage size-wise as Graz has 6’9” Fabricio Vay and 6’7” Filip Krämer, while Qatar will field 6’7” Abdelrahman Yehia Abdelhaleem and 6-foot-10 Souley Ndour.
But the players are confident that Ayo’s schemes will work in the three-a-side game.
“Sa practice pa lang, talagang banggaan na talaga. Napakalakas na rin nila yung katawan namin,” said Santos, the tallest in the team at 6’5”.
“Going back sa UST days ko, ganu’n pa rin ‘yung schemes ni Coach Aldin. Same approach pa rin tulad ng ginawa namin kaya naka-Finals kami nu’ng UAAP Season 82 ang ginawa niya dito para sa amin,” added Huang, a 6’2” post creator.
Only one team from the qualifying draw will advance to the tournament proper. Waiting for the survivor are US teams NY Harlem and Princeton, both top-five teams in the world.
Lanete is confident that their skills can negate the tall odds stacked in front of them.
“Sa darating na laban, siyempre maliliit kami pero ang ibibigay namin sa kanila eh ‘yung bilis namin at outside shooting. ‘Yun ang power namin,” said Lanete.