The Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list on Sunday urged the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to tap players from the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) 3×3 league for the upcoming FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2022.
“Now that the PBA has its own 3×3 conference, the SBP should strengthen the Gilas 3×3 pool by tapping players from the PBA just like what coach Chot Reyes plans to do with the regular Gilas Pilipinas team,” PBA Party-list spokesperson Atty. Migs Nograles said.
The PBA previously launched its 3×3 league to make 3×3 a viable career option for basketball players who want to focus on the half-court game.
Nograles issued the statement as the FIBA announced Manila and Cebu will be included in the stops this year.
After opening the world tour in Utsunomiya, Japan on May 14-15, FIBA will hold the Manila Masters on May 28-29. The tour will head to Cebu on October 1-2.
Nograles noted that the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 last year failed to qualify for the inaugural Olympic 3×3 basketball competition in Tokyo, Japan.
“I understand that Coach Ryan Gregorio of the SBP has said they have already identified the steps to take to ensure that our country will be more competitive in 3×3. I hope they will put all the learnings from the Gilas experience in Austria last year to good use,” the Davaoeña lawyer added.
World No. 21 Gilas suffered a lopsided 11-22 defeat against world no. 37 Dominican Republic in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualification Tournament at Graz, Austria.
The Philippine team also endured heavy losses in their first two games against Qatar (12-21) and Slovenia (11-21) during the Olympic qualifiers.
Nograles noted that the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 last year failed to qualify for the inaugural Olympic 3×3 basketball competition in Tokyo, Japan.
Moreover, Nograles also proposed including 3×3 basketball in the roster of games in the Palarong Pambansa.
“Now that 3×3 basketball is officially an Olympic sport, maybe it is high time we include the game in the Palarong Pambansa. That way, we would have an easier time to scout for talents we can train and develop,” she said.
The PBA previously launched its 3×3 league to make 3×3 a viable career option for basketball players who want to focus on the half-court game.
Gregorio has said their first order of business was to encourage and identify 3×3 players who will be dedicated to the 3×3 discipline while also taking advantage of the flexibility of FIBA in terms of eligibility in 3×3. The second step would be to seek help from experts of the 3×3 game and ensure that there is the transfer of knowledge from them to the Filipino players.
