SIXTEEN teams, including nine international clubs, will slug it out in the anticipated second season of the Manila Hustle 3×3 this weekend at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Music Hall.
Gilas Pilipinas women, Uratex Tibay and Uratex Dream headline the local cast ready to defend turf against teams from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia and India in the stacked tournament presented by Uratex and Smart.
“We want everybody to be aware of how women’s basketball has developed. We like everyone to see how it has progressed,” said tournament director Peachy Medina, joined by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy and 3×3 program director Eric Altamirano.
Camille Clarin, Mikka Cacho, Monique del Carmen and Tin Cayabyab make up the Gilas women as other national team players suit up for different clubs.
Kaye Pingol, along with Chinese reinforcement Renzhu Li, will lead Uratex Dream as seasoned Gilas campaigner Afril Bernardino and Spanish dazzler Ari Geli spearhead Uratex Tibay with Jhazmin Joson and Katrina Guytingco along with Thai star Supavadee Kunchuan representing Titans.
Other local teams out to give the fancied squads a run for their own money are Discovery Perlas, Bluefire LPG and Army Altama with foreign squads Dinoman Hansol and Unicle of Korea, Tokyo Dime, Owls.EXE and Zoos Tokyo of Japan, Thailand’s Shoot It Dragons, Singapore’s Jumpshot, Australia’s Royals Basketball and Shiv Nadar School of India.
At stake is a grand prize of $3,000 but more than that and the top-level competition, the tourney serves as a golden chance for aspiring players to earn their stripes for a possible national team call-up.
“We wanted to use this tournament to evaluate the players in the pool and this gives us a chance to identify who can play in FIBA Asia Cup 3×3,” said Mr. Altamirano.
“It’s really when stakeholders come up with tournaments like this that contributes to the industry and that really elevates the game,” added SBP’s Ms. Dy. — John Bryan Ulanday
