You would think that the Philippines would be in a lofty position in global three-on-three (3×3) basketball rankings with its hosting last year of the World Cup at Philippine Arena and participation in the Under 23 men’s tournament in China in October.
What’s more, there seems to be a lot of tournaments going around, and it would make you assume that the rest of the world knew about it.
However, the country is far off from being invited to the next qualifying tournament in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will stage 3×3 hoops for the first time.
As of the latest rankings, the Philippines is in 48th position combining the points from both the men’s and women’s competitions and player rankings. The men’s group is at 59th spot while the women are at 47th.
This concern prompted the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas 3×3 national program director Ronnie Magsanoc to recently gather regional directors, coaches, players and event makers to a forum at Meralco Gym.
“We have to be in the top 10 to 20 spots to get an invitation to play in a qualifying tournament that will send us to the Olympic qualifier,” Magsanoc explained. “Right now, that is about nine million points behind the number one team which is China.”
In fact, countries that may not have basketball as their premier sport are even ranked higher than the Philippines.
“The sum total of the federation points means that countries have competed, won or placed in world-class 3×3 competitions, have the correct program that gives them the maximum ranking points to help their federation ascend world rankings and have a healthy dose of 3×3 events in their country that gives their top 100 players the chance to help their country earn points even locally,” Magsanoc added.
For a variety of previous reasons like administrative oversights and faulty online connections, many local tournaments around the country have not been logged with Fiba within 48 hours after completion.
Magsanoc is optimistic now that with the closing of ranks of different Philippine stakeholders, keeping Fiba updated of Philippine 3×3 activity through the federation’s website will be more regular.
It would be really disappointing if the Philippines cannot continue to participate on a global stage in a format that suits Filipino temperament and style. The 3×3 game is not entirely about height but underscores key skills like shooting, ball control and movement and alertness. Filipino players have these and the world will be reminded very soon of what our 3×3 hoops are all about.