CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The road to the Olympics has been strewn with obstacles that the Philippine men’s basketball 3×3 team should be ready to hurdle.
Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas has committed to pave that way by throwing its full backing to the squad whose singular task is to bring the national tri-colors to the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
To help smoothen the path, Chooks-to-Go will attempt to pull off a series of local tournaments designed to elevate the team’s chances after a missed shot in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Playmaker Mark Tallo, the No.1 3×3 baller in the country, and fellow Cebuano Zachary Huang will headline the team that will see action in these local meets as well as participating in a training camp in Serbia for at least two weeks early next month.
They will be joined by big men Filipino-Canadian Brandon Ramirez and Dennis Santos along with Tosi Tansingco and Cameroonian Mike Nzeusseu, who will be applying for naturalization.
“It’s a long shot with a singular purpose. It will be difficult to qualify in Paris, but we will keep on trying and as long as people are committed to this cause, I believe we have a chance,” said Chooks-To-Go president Ronald Mascarinas.
International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 3×3 head Ignacio Soriano flew in from Spain to attend Monday’s presser at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City and gave his imprimatur on the global partnership of Chooks-To-Go with Fiba.
Aldin Ayo will mentor the national men’s 3×3 team with former professional players Chico Lanete and Mark Yee as assistants.
“We’re laying down the foundation of our program. We’re on our seventh week together and we’re lucky to be able to practice this long. This is a big opportunity for us and we’re being patient,” said Ayo.
After setting up camp in Serbia, where the finest 3×3 players are honed, the national squad will play in the Chooks-to-Go Super Quest on April 30-May 1, Chooks-to-Go Manila Masters on May 27-29 and Chooks-to-Go Cebu Masters on Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
It offers ranking points for them to make it to the OQT with at least 12 countries competing in each leg.