PH boosts Olympic 3×3 dream with hosting of Fiba Asia Pacific Super Quest
The Philippines’ bid to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics got another much-needed shot in the arm.
Chooks-to-Go on Tuesday revealed that the country will stage the Chooks-to-Go Asia Pacific Super Quest, an international 3×3 event tentatively set on April 6 to 7 in Manila.
The Quest, a tournament which Fiba opted to award the hosting rights to the Philippines, serves as another avenue for the country to participate in the Olympic 3×3 event.
“We are looking for tangible ways for the country to find its way to the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. I know it’s hard at this point but we will try everything,” said Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas. “We are happy to be chosen to host the first-ever Super Quest.”
“The Super Quest will serve as a qualifier to get to the World Tour,” said Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 League commissioner Eric Altamirano. “It opened a pathway for us first to get to the World tour and then, hopefully in the World Tour we get a spot in the Olympics.”
The other way for the Philippines to make the Olympics is through ranking points, which the country is currently way behind.
As host, the Philippines gets to filed in two teams in the Super Quest.
The top three finishers in the Super Quest will qualify for the World Tour.
The unveiling of the Super Quest comes on the heels of the country’s successful staging of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 League, the first-ever 3×3 league in the Philippines, which made quite a good impression on Fiba 3×3 managing director Alex Sanchez.
“After last year’s success of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup organized by SBP, the initiative of Chooks-to-go to set up a tournament with international teams from Asia-Pacific qualifying to the FIBA 3×3 World Tour is excellent news, underpins the effort of Chooks-to-go in organizing dozens of local 3×3 events and will accelerate the development of 3×3 in Philippines,” said Sanchez.
There is no reason why Philippines cannot have successful teams playing at World Tour level, considering the depth of talent and love for the game in the country.”
