By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA
MANILA — The Philippines’ last dash to the first-ever Olympic 3×3 basketball event got a huge boost as it hosts the FIBA 3×3 Asia-Pacific Super Quest, possibly in April.
Ronald Mascariñas, president of Chooks-To-Go, the main presenter of the tournament, officially announced the development during a press conference at the Bar One inside Crowne Plaza in Pasig City on Tuesday night.
“This is the first time na in-offer ito ng FIBA (This is the first time FIBA made the offer),” Mascariñas said. “It’s really a special window given to the Philippines.”
The Super Quest will be the biggest event for a cagefest being played on a half court that the country will host since it hosted the FIBA 3×3 World Cup at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan last year.
The Super Quest, expected to be of bigger bearing than the FIBA 3×3 Quest tournaments, will pit two Philippine teams against some of the best 3×3 teams in the world.
“Most likely it would happen in April, right after the Chooks-To-Go 3×3 President’s Cup,” Eric Altamirano said, as he bared the possible schedule of the Super Quest.
Altamirano is the commissioner of the Chooks-To-Go 3×3, the first 3×3 league in the country.
The top two teams after the grand finals of the ongoing President’s Cup will qualify for the Super Quest, a qualifying tournament for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.
Bataan got to a great start in the President’s Cup by ruling the first leg at the SM Megamall Events Center in Mandaluyong on Saturday, stunning preseason favorite Pasig in the finals.
Altamirano said the top three teams in the Super Quest will make it to the World Tour.
Just like the other tournaments, FIBA 3×3 World Ranking Points will be given to the teams depending on how they will perform.
It means that the better the rankings of the two Philippine teams in the Super Quest and the World Tour are, should they both qualify, the higher the points they can get and the better the chance for the Philippines to make it to the Olympics in Tokyo next year.
The Philippines currently ranks 50th in the FIBA 3×3 men’s world ranking, way outside the Top 20.
The 20 countries with the most number of accumulated points per gender will earn a spot in the Olympic 3×3 event.
Japan, the host of the Olympics, ranks fourth overall — number one in Asia — in the men’s ranking as of posting
