CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — CJ Perez and Moala Tautuaa are once again set for double duties as the country’s national basketball 3×3 team anticipates getting the approval to resume its practices in preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases already allowed professional football and basketball teams to return to non-scrimmage training, and the Philippines’ 3×3 squad is now expecting to get the green light as well for their own resumption of practices, as per a report from the PBA website.
Perez will have to join his teammates with Terra Firma (formerly Columbian Dyip) once it starts practice and so does Tautuaa with San Miguel Beer.
The two might start their national team duties come September and join amateur stars Alvin Pasaol and Joshua Munzon.
Munzon, Tautuaa, Pasaol, and Perez comprise the Philippine team that will vie for a slot in the inaugural 3×3 basketball event in the Olympics.
The Philippines, which is ranked No. 20 in the world, was supposed to participate in the original OQT in India on March 18 to 22 but the event was postponed due to COVID-19 and was then moved to Austria in May 2021.
Slovenia, France, Qatar, and the Dominican Republic are the Philippines’ opponents in Group C of the tournament where the three best placers in the whole competition will advance to the Olympics.