Eric Altamirano to head inaugural PBA 3×3 league

New PBA 3×3 director Eric Altamirano. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Eric Altamirano is staying put in the 3×3 scene but he’s transitioning from one league to another.

As the PBA announced its own 3×3 league, competition chairman Dicky Bachmann also revealed that Altamirano would serve as tournament director after the Board of Governors convened on Thursday.

Altamirano is seen as one of the few men responsible for propagating the 3×3 culture in the Philippines,  once serving as the commissioner of Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3.

Bachmann said that Altamirano will work in a committee alongside his former University of the Philippines teammates Ronnie Magsanoc and Joey Guanio, who are set to present their plans on February 26 during the next Board meeting.

“We’re welcoming Eric Altamirano as tournament director, I will be meeting him together with Ronnie and Joey by next week to discuss plans for 3×3,” said Bachmann, who is also Alaska’s team governor.

“Basically for me, it’s a no-brainer. He’s experienced in running 3×3 so it makes sense to hire somebody who has the experience. It’s a big advantage for us.”

The 12 member teams of the PBA will have their own 3×3 squads and Bachmann said that there will be “four or five” more guest teams coming in.

Since this will be the inaugural 3×3 competition for the PBA, the guest teams will have direct hires for players instead of going through a draft selection.

“So for now there’s no drafting yet, right now it’s a direct hire,” said Bachmann, who’s already discussed with Fiba regarding the formation of the new 3×3 competition. “The guest teams will have their own players already.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the original plan of staging three conferences was scrapped and instead two pocket tournaments will be held during the breaks in between the Cups.