PBA gives 3x3 program full support

ROME – The Philippine Basketball Association launches a 3x3 event next month in an effort to help boost the national 3x3 program and help the national team qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, if not the Tokyo Games in July.

For the coming Olympic qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics, the PBA board agreed to lend SEAG gold-medal winners CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Moala Tautuaa and Jason Perkins to reinforce the current pool of coach Ronnie Magsanoc.

The SBP selection committee, composed of Sonny Barrios, Eric Altamirano, Butch Antonio, Jong Uichico and Magsanoc, can tap two from the new pool additions to team up with two high-ranking Filipino 3x3 players to compose the final four-man roster.

Then comes the launch of PBA 3x3 next month, featuring teams from all 12 PBA franchises plus two non-PBA entities in Dunkin’ Donuts and Mighty Sports.

Player recruitment, tournament format, scheduling and the likes are still up in the air, though, pending the appointment of a tournament director that will be under the supervision of PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

“It will be a stand-alone tournament just like our D-League,” said PBA board chairman Ricky Vargas at the end of their planning session at Rosa Grand Milano in Milan Friday.

“Through the recommendation of the vice chair (Bobby Rosales of Columbian Dyip), we decided to make it a stand-alone program, something like the D-League,” said Vargas.

“Our involvement in 3x3 reassured SBP president (Al Panlilio) that the PBA is all-out to support the SBP. We’ve been doing that in the last four years, and in fact, it’s the commissioner who said he wanted extra budget because the extension of (the 44th PBA season) caused us about close to P6 million,” Vargas pointed out.

“And that’s the cost for us to keep on moving our schedule because of the involvement in Gilas,” Vargas added.

The initial plan is to open the PBA 3x3 to all players not in the active list of PBA teams, regardless of age.  A proposal to elevate 3x3 players to the PBA without going through the D-League was thumbed down.

Rosales said their 3x3 program would underscore PBA being inclusive. He also cited providing more opportunities for Filipino basketball players.