Chooks brings in Serbian coach to head the training of PH 3×3 squad

The Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 is leaving no stone unturned at the crucial stage of the team’s campaign to qualify in both the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 tapped the services of Serbia’s Team Liman head trainer Milan Isakov to be an active consultant for the team’s next season crusade.

Isakov, 35, brought with him a very juicy credential that includes leading Liman to world no. 2 status, the head trainer of Russia during the last Olympic cycle – resulting in a silver medal finish of both the men’s and the women’s team at the Tokyo Olympics. He was also the head trainer of China’s women’s national 3×3 basketball team in 2019, steering the squad to the top in the 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.

“I think that the knowledge that I learned from my past experience is what I bring here. What I’ve seen so far has been way above my expectation because of the passion and skill shown by the players,” said Isakov.

“Coach Milan is a welcome addition to our team as his vast experience will help in the growth not just of our team but also of Coach Chico Lanete. With his knowledge, not only will our players learn new skills that will equip them for the 2023 FIBA 3×3 season but also help us in identifying the right composition for our teams,” said the godfather of Philippine 3×3 and Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas.

Currently in the Philippine pool includes Mac Tallo, Brandon Ramirez, Dennis Santos, Dave Ando, Vince Tolentino, Mike Nzeusseu, and Henry Iloka.

Those who stood out during the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 national tryout for guards were Paul Desideiro, Gerald Anderson, Jaypee Belencion, Shaq Alanes, RJ Deles,  Ian Pardo and Zaljun Cartagena.

The invitational try-outs for big men will be announced soon as well.

“We have a lot of work to do no matter what the roster is,” said Isakov.

Currently, the Philippines is ranked no. 21 in the world.

Isakov is confident that the country can make a huge turnaround come the 2023 season if work is put into the program.

“First of all, I don’t believe that basketball is a game of height. As we see in 5-on-5, it’s just about five players who can do everything and are highly skilled. Here in 3×3, ‘short’ players can compete with the physicality and skills. If we just do the work, we can compete with the best teams in the world,” he said.