Dubbed the PBA Three-point Shootout Charity Virtual Tournament, this undertaking should draw interest from the league’s young fans — specifically those hooked on mobile games.
This tournament-for-a-cause features 24 players from the league’s 12-member ball clubs, who will battle each other using the mobile app game PBA Slam.
Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa and Scottie Thompson, SMB’s June Mar Fajardo and Von Pessumal, and Magnolia’s Paul Lee and Alvin Abundo lead the participants, who are vying for the top prize of PHP 250,000. The amount goes to the charitable institution selected by the winning team.
Also entered in the tournament are Mike Digregorio and Robbie Herndon (Alaska), Diego Dario and Chris Bitoon (Blackwater), Roosevelt Adams and Bonbon Battiler (Terra Firma), Philip Paniamogan and Kenneth Ighalo (NLEX), Dave Marcelo and Justin Chua (Phoenix), Lervin Flores and Kib Montalbo (TNT), Rey Nambatac and Adrian Wong (ROS), Kevin Ferrer and Paolo Taha (NorthPort) and Baser Amer and Nard Pinto (Meralco).
The event, which launched last Aug. 28, takes place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fans can catch it live on PBA Rush at 7 p.m. and on www.pba.ph at 8 p.m.
Teams are divided into two groups of six. The elimination round pits players from the same teams against each other. They play four rounds with a time limit of 1:30-minute per round.
The winner of the challenge advances to the six-team semifinals. Already qualified for the semis are Herndon, Thompson, Bitoon, Abundo, and Ferrer.
The same process will be used in the semis, with the three winners advancing to the finals.