FILE — GIlas 3×3 team.
MANILA, Philippines—Just like Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine 3×3 men’s national team pool will head to Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna for its training camp.
The 3×3 team is preparing for the Fiba 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament where the country takes on Qatar and Slovenia on May 26 and Dominican Republic and France on May 28 in a bid to take one of the three spots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Santi Santillan—all of whom were drafted in the PBA this year—received their clearances from their mother clubs along with Moala Tautuaa and CJ Perez.
Karl Dehesa will also travel to Calamba to join the team as one of the reserve players along with Santillan.
“We are happy to tell everyone that our request was received favorably by the PBA for Joshua Munzon of TerraFirma, Alvin Pasaol of Meralco, Leonard Santillan of Rain or Shine, and CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa of San Miguel Beer to join the training bubble in Calamba, Laguna for the upcoming FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament scheduled for May 26 to 30 in Graz, Austria,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio.
https://twitter.com/FIBA3x3/status/1386583474577027075
“All the players and coaches, led by SBP 3×3 Program Director Ronnie Magsanoc, have started the protocol necessary to enter the training bubble and they will start their practices next week.”
Bengaluru was the original host of the Fiba 3×3 OQT, which was set initially set for March 18 to 22 in 2020, but was moved to May 2021 in Austria due to the COVID-19 situation.
“We believe that the Philippines will have a competitive team in Austria,” said Panlilio. “It’s a big challenge to upset teams ranked in the Top 10 of 3×3 in Slovenia and France but we have a good combination of skill, speed, size, and strength to give them a run for their money.”