The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas unveiled its 12-man pool for the 3×3 basketball event of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games last Thursday. However, none of the players came from Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 — the country’s first-ever league dedicated to the sport.
Later in the evening, league owner Ronald Mascariñas held a sit-down dinner with members of the press to talk about what happened. Though saddened for the players, the amiable executive accepted the decision of the federation and expressed his full support to them.
“Al Panlilio just released the 12 players shortlisted for the SEA Games and these are all PBA players,” Mascariñas said. “Personally, I’m sad for the players because I know they are expecting to represent the country, and they’ve sacrificed a lot for this sport. It is their pride and honor to serve their country.
“But this should not distract us from our ultimate objective, which is to qualify in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”
According to SBP president Al Panlilio, their main reason for selecting PBA players for the regional meet is to help popularize the sport by fielding players from the country’s premier 5-on-5 league.
“As you very well know, we are continuously expanding the growth and pushing for the continued popularity of 3×3 in our country. And the best way to promote it is to utilize our PBA superstars as our ambassadors,” Panlilio said.
When asked to comment on this, Mascariñas expressed, “Whatever path SBP chooses, whether we agree with it or not, we should all bear in mind that we are one with the federation with a common interest, and that is to bring honor for our country through the sport of basketball.
“We respect the decision of SBP and will continue to wholeheartedly support the basketball program of SBP.”
With Chooks-to-Go as the driving force for the country in the 3×3 rankings, the Philippines rose from 59th in the world last February to the top 24 in just a span of seven months.
The league houses the majority of the top 100 3×3 players in the country, including aces Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol. Moreover, the top teams in the league have competed in numerous high-level FIBA 3×3 tournaments across the world to expose the players to top-level 3×3 competitions.
With their experience, Mascariñas wants to share the knowledge of the players in his league by inviting the 12-players from Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 pool to join the tournament this October to help prepare the national team for the SEAG.
“To help prepare the PBA players for the SEA Games, given that most of them have limited to no experience playing 3×3 at a high level, we’re inviting them to join us in the Chooks-to-Go Melmac Cup that can serve as tune-up games for our national 3×3 pool,” shared Mascariñas.
“Players from Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3 are eager to share their experience and learnings competing in a number of high levels FIBA 3×3 international tournaments across the globe in the last seven months, to help prepare the PBA 3×3 pool for the SEAG.”
Besides helping out the national team, the Chooks-to-Go MelMac Cup — which is a level five FIBA 3×3 tournament — can help rack up points for the country to secure our place in the top 24 in the world rankings.
