Three local teams, led by President’s Cup champions Isabela City (Basilan), will see action in the Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger on Sept. 7 to 8 at the SM Fairview Events Center.
A level 9 in the FIBA 3×3 hierarchy, the event is crucial to the country’s bid to secure a slot in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Also taking part in the event that coincides with the 22nd anniversary of the organizing Bounty Agro Ventures Incorporated are world No. 27 Pasig and two-time Chooks 3×3 runner-up Balanga.
The event also serves as a qualifier for the Jeddah Masters slated Oct. 18-19
The local teams, however, will be up against world No. 2 Riga of Latvia, No. 5 Amsterdam of Netherland, No. 10 Gagarin of Russia, No. 15 Kranj of Slovenia, No. 25 Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia, and Czech Republic’s Humpolec.
“We are celebrating our 22nd anniversary and what better way for our company to give back than by making one last push for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 league owner and BAVI general manager Ronald Mascariñas.
“We want to bring a quality tournament to the Filipino people.”
The Philippines is currently ranked at 27th in the men’s rankings with 6,748,080 points. The country needs to make it to the top 24 by Oct. 31to secure a berth in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“To put it quite simply, it’s very crucial for us to host a level-nine tournament especially in this stage in the race for the FIBA 3X3 OQT,” said Mascariñas, who is grateful to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for helping in his company’s bid to host the this season’s 23rd of 28 challengers.
