The Philippine Basketball Association’s inaugural 3×3 tournament will have 13 teams — 10 from its members and three guest teams.
Four of the member teams will carry a different brand from their mother company.
San Miguel Corporation’s Magnolia will bring back Purefoods as its team will be called the Purefoods Tender Juicy Titans.
Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation’s NLEX’s 3×3 team will be the Cavitex Road Warriors.
Asian Coatings Philippines will field the Sista Super Sealers while Phoenix Petroleum Philippines will promote Limitless — the company’s mobile app for reward points and vouchers.
Also competing are the TNT Tropang Giga, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the Meralco Bolts, the NorthPort Batang Pier, the San Miguel Beermen, and the Terrafirma Dyip.
Guest teams are Pioneer Pro Tibay, Platinum Karaoke, and the Zamboanga Valientes MLV.
According to PBA 3×3 chairman Dickie Bachmann, one 3×3 season in the PBA will have three conferences. Each conference will be composed of six two-day legs and a grand final.
“Since the PBA is the leader of basketball in the Philippines, it’s about time we introduce a new format,” he told The Game.
“Each leg has prize money and the grand finals will also have prize money. The top 10 teams after the first six legs will advance to the grand finals.”
The legs will be played every weekend with the group stages played on Saturdays and the knockout playoffs being held on Sundays, all prior to the 5-on-5 games.
With 13 teams, one of the four groups during Day 1 will have four teams.
“We will start mid-November,” added Bachmann.
Some teams will have new rosters due to the player movements like Meralco’s Jason Brickman signing with T1’s Kaohsiung and Ginebra’s Val Chauca going to Blackwater.
