Back door to Olympic basketball

It is the most gnawing, niggling issue in Philippine sports history, one that persists until this day. It is one of the supreme ironies in a country that loves basketball, with a list of accomplishments as long as your arm. And yet, there is this one thing that Filipino fans have been starving for for close to half a century. Since 1972, the Philippines has not qualified for the Olympic basketball tournament.

The Philippines was one of the first countries to hold a major women’s basketball tournament. In 1933, not yet a republic, the commonwealth issued the first basketball stamps. The following year, Rizal Memorial was mute witness to the hosts’ triumph in the Far Eastern Games. Filipinos also should have won the first Olympic basketball gold in Berlin in 1936, had the Germans and American not conspired to break the rules and set the USA up to win. In 1938, the MICAA was established, setting a template for amateur basketball. The 1950’s saw remarkable growth in international amateur and local collegiate hoops. And of course, in 1975, the first professional league in Asia, the PBA, was born. But it did not end there. Filipinos have been playing as imports all over Asia, and coaching national teams of other countries for decades. Even with recent accomplishments and the formidable efforts of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the Philippines is hoping to get back into Olympic basketball. The upcoming FIBA window is the next step on the journey.

Bounty Agri Ventures, Inc. (BAVI), the mother company of Chooks To Go, has also been strategizing ways to help solve this dilemma. Chooks To Go has committed to helping the national team no matter what. But they also discovered a strange irony in their selfless campaign

“We noticed that even when we go full-blast in supporting the Philippine team, it has no impact on sales; they remain steady,” reveals Ronald Mascariñas, president of BAVI. “But with our traditional advertising – our commercials with Vic Sotto, for example – there’s a twenty percent increase in sales. Those who watch basketball are not our consumers, who are predominantly female. But not all companies have that option to support the national team. So we will not give up.”

Not relying on their already substantial help, Mascariñas and his team found a possible back door into Olympic basketball. In January, Chooks To Go organized a massive three-on-three street tournament in the boys’ and girls’ towns of Cebu. The event set a FIBA world record for most players, and another one with 100 half-courts. SBP provided referees and training for table officials. It also had an unexpected benefit. Aside from firing up love for the brand through social media, it made our basketball officials aware of the possibility of barging into the Olympics in 3x3, and it may be easier.

As it stood, the Philippines is ten million points behind 3x3 leader China. It appeared to be a seemingly impossible number to chase. But when FIBA said that the Cebu tournament alone earned the country two million points, Mascariñas lit up.

“We approached Coach Eric Altamirano and the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) for help,” Mascariñas explains. “He has the network in more than 100 cities. He said NBTC alone will contribute ten million points.”

On top of that, the brand is launching a nationwide 3x3 tournament next weekend, which will be another push towards earning points to qualify for the new Olympic event in Tokyo in 2020. By the way, unlike other new Olympic sports or events, 3x3 basketball has immediately been declared a medal sport.

“FIBA is very happy, and their head for 3x3 is arriving in the country on February 16,” Mascariñas declares. “SM is providing the venues for free. This is a club tournament, so it will earn more points than a grassroots event. By April, we will know the champion, whom we will send to the FIBA World Tour.”

This discovery provides an alternative and back-up plan to the efforts to qualify via five-on-five. And if the country keeps organizing large 3x3 events and stays among the top countries in the world in points accumulated, there may even be no need to join any tournaments. The Philippines could even be seeded outright to the Olympic tournament. 

Imagine that.