MANILA – The Sagay City-born Mark Yee will lead the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas’ 3×3 squad when it competes in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3×3 World Tour Montreal Masters from Sept. 4 to 5, 2021 in Montreal, Canada.
This will be Negrense’s first time representing the Philippines on the international stage. He said: “Sobrang blessed. Hindi naman natin maitatago na may edad na tayo para maimbitahan tayo sa ganito kalaking team. Hindi ko naisip na marerepresent ko pa ‘yung bansa natin sa FIBA sa tanda ko na ito.”
“Kahit maliit kami, papakita namin na hindi kami susuko. Dadaanin namin sa sipag at tiyaga ang bawat laro,” he added.
With his years of experience playing in the Philippine Basketball Association with Burger King Whopper, TNT Tropang Giga, Meralco Bolts, NorthPort Batang Pier, and Columbian Dyip, the cager is undoubtedly a valuable addition to head coach Aldin Ayo’s crew.
He played for the Davao Occidental-Cocolife in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and was instrumental in the team’s championship run in the 2019-2021 MPBL Lakan Cup.
Aside from Yee, the Manila Chooks TM roster also includes Mark Tallo, Zach Huang, Dennis Santos, and Chico Lanete, who will serve as the Philippine representative’s alternate player.
Ayo assured that the squad is in good shape despite the fact that the squad has not had physical practices in the past few weeks due to the heightened coronavirus disease 2019 quarantine restrictions.
“With regards to conditioning, there will be no problem as we made sure that the players figured in high-intensity workouts,” Ayo said. “The chemistry will also be there since the team has been together for three months already.
“But the tournament itself is a different beast. With the limitations that we have, we studied a lot of films on our possible opponents and we are hoping that the preparations translate to winning games,” he went on.
The Manila Chooks TM is seeded 11th among the 12 teams in the tournament. This will be Philippine representatives’ second tournament this year since the Doha Masters last March 26./PN
