The Philippines has risen to number 21 in the FIBA 3X3 Men’s World Rankings with 8,156,366 points after the 2019 Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3 season ended last Sunday, barely a month before the October 31 FIBA-imposed deadline to rack up points.
The country is now inside the Top 24 that will qualify to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
“All the hard work of our players, our team owners, our staff, and the federation has paid off,” said Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas league owner Ronald Mascariñas.
Back in February, the men’s side of the Philippines was ranked at a lowly 59. But ever since the league opened its curtains last February 16, the country’s rankings have steadily risen.
The first-ever season of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 had three conferences, namely the President’s Cup, the Patriot’s Cup, and the Magiting Cup. All had level-seven tournament ratings, with level-10 as the highest possible rating.
The country also hosted the world’s first-ever Super Quest last April, a level eight tourney; and the country’s first-ever Challenger tournament last September 7, a level nine event.
Moreover, the club teams from the league competed in a World Tour and multiple Challenger tourneys — including the Doha Masters and Challenger tournaments in Moscow, Haining, Poitiers, Xiongan, Sukhbaatar, Kaohsiung, and Jeddah.
The league also houses 49 of the top 50 3×3 players in the country, and almost 90-percent of the top 100.
Twenty teams will compete in the OQT for four slots to the Olympics. The last slot will be contested in a Universality OQT.
The three highest-ranked federations will automatically qualify for the Olympics, while host Japan has gained automatic entry.
Though the Chooks 3×3 season is over, Mascariñas and league commissioner Eric Altamirano are planning more 3×3 activities this October to protect the country’s ranking within the Top 24 leading to the October 31 deadline.
“We can’t just wait and leave our fate to chance. We have to continue pushing until the goal is met,” said Mascariñas.
