THE 2020 Chooks-to-Go 3×3 Pilipinas season drew to a successful conclusion on Friday at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, leaving organizers relieved and grateful for being able to pull it off despite the myriad of challenges.

Hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the people behind the newly recognized league worked and planned hard to see the tournament through, even if it meant going the costly “bubble” way, which had them holing up all the participants in the government-approved facility of National University for the two-week duration of the President’s Cup.

The tournament ended on Friday with Family’s Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City Chooks emerging the biggest winner, taking the grand finals over the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, 22-19, in a highly competitive championship game while also bagging the P1-million top prize.

Zamboanga City, composed of national team pool members, also took three of the four previous legs of the tournament which started on Oct. 21.

“The Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup bubble at INSPIRE Sports Academy was a resounding success… Beyond the players who were the main actors in the 3×3 basketball spectacle, many people behind the scenes toiled round the clock for weeks for the seamless execution of the tournament and keep everyone safe,” wrote Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. president and league owner Ronald Mascarinas of the tournament, which also served as part of the preparation of the national team for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year.

To see the tournament through, Chooks-to-Go 3×3 Pilipinas had to work with pertinent government agencies, including the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), to guide it from the planning all the way to the competition proper to come up with the right protocols.

It also employed the services of medical and safety experts so as to ensure that no stone was left unturned as far as health and safety was concerned throughout the bubble.

And its efforts paid off with the successful run of the tournament, with zero positive cases of the coronavirus.

The league was also lauded by its partners for staying the course and being cooperative through the whole process.

“We thank them (league) for their diligence and close working relationship with the GAB. We look forward to working again with them soon. They have exceeded the suggested protocols and it paid off,” said GAB chairman Baham Mitra in a statement.

“We’re really very happy and proud of Chooks-to-Go for really being able to pull this off. This is the one and only ‘full’ bubble. And the most important thing we’ve seen is because of our strict implementation of health protocols, the ‘full’ bubble remained intact,” INSPIRE Sports Academy marketing director Lee Tajonera, for their part, said.

With the successful staging of the 2020 Chooks-to-Go 3×3 Pilipinas season, Mr. Mascarinas also expressed hope that the potential and beauty of 3×3 basketball be recognized by more Filipinos.

“The success of the tournament removes any doubt that 3×3 is now becoming basketball’s most popular format and is here to stay. We just had our official coming-of-age party, and what a party it was!” – Michael Angelo S. Murillo  

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