Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—To continue its mission in garnering more FIBA 3X3 points for the Philippines in the race to the 2020 Olympics, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 found a right partner for the job.
Beverage giant Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (Coca-Cola) has joined forces with Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI) for the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Patriots’ Cup.
“Coca-Cola and Chooks-to-Go share the mission which is to do whatever we can to help the country reach the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in whatever way we can,” said Coca-Cola Philippines modern trade manager Ken Marvin Lumbao. “And from what we have seen during the President’s Cup, Chooks-to-Go has been the one racking up points for the country. We want to help them out in this endeavor.”
“This is indeed a great development not only for us but also for our local 3×3 basketball scene,” said Ronald Mascariñas, the founder of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3—the only level seven-ranked FIBA 3×3-accredited tournament in the country.
The tie up was formalized Tuesday during a press conference and sendoff for Pasig Chooks and Balanga Chooks ahead of the two squads’ campaign in the Fiba 3×3 Tinkoff Moscow Challenger on June 7-8 in Russia.
“With this partnership, we will continue to push for more top-level 3×3 events in the country leading up to the November 1 deadline of FIBA for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments,” Mascariñas added.
Coca-Cola is no stranger to the 3×3 basketball scene.
The company has been a staunch backer of Mongolia’s 3×3 program that saw the small nation climb from the cellars to become the third-ranked 3×3 basketball country in the world with 9,405,105 points.
“Besides being a football country, Mongolia is a force in the 3×3 basketball scene as they are definitely shoo-ins for the Olympics. Our company knows that the Philippines is a 3×3 powerhouse waiting to be unraveled. And with Chooks-to-Go, we will work hand in hand to make it to the top 24 and join an OQT,” added Lumbao as the Philippines is currently at 28 with 2,088,477 points.
The first conference of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 saw 12 teams figure in five legs that had PHP 1,000,000 and a ticket to the 2019 FIBA 3X3 Doha Masters at stake. To cap the conference, the league hosted the world’s first-ever Super Quest that had a prize pool of USD 50,000, two tickets for the Doha Masters, a ticket to the FIBA 3×3 Challengers Penang, and two tickets to the FIBA 3X3 Challengers Kunshan as the pot.
With this tournament, the country rose from 59th in the world to a peak of 30th last April.
The Patriots’ Cup will see 12 teams beefed up by foreign guest players compete in five legs. The conference begins on Sunday, June 16 at SM Seaside City Cebu.
The second leg takes place on June 22 in SM Fairview followed by the third stop in SM Muntinlupa on July 6. SM Megamall will host the fourth leg (July 13) and the Grand Finals (July 27). All games will be shown live on ESPN5.