BASKETBALL is undoubtedly the most popular spectator sport in the country. But “tatluhan” or three-on-three basketball is far and away the most played.
Everyone plays this game. Gyms and private basketball courts are not even needed because “tatluhan” is played in street corners, vacant lots, driveways, backyards and every available space where you can put up a ring and a backboard for players to fling a basketball at.
Recognizing this AXA Philippines presented NBA 3X Philippines 2017. The competition reached an all-time high in popularity this year with increased participation from Metro Manila and provincial teams joining the various age group categories of the seven-year old 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Fifty-six out of 176 participating teams survived the qualifiers held at Don Bosco Makati. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals matches of the Boys Under-13, Under-16, and Under-18, Girls Under-18, Men’s Open and Women’s Open were staged at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall last weekend.
Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams, former Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus—now more popularly known as Kobe Paras’ coach at Cal State Northridge in the US NCAA—and the Laker Girls added glitz and glamor to the event by awarding all winning individuals and teams their medals and trophies.
Participants came from a virtual cross section of society.
The Men’s Open division was won by Team Rocan from Valenzuela, Bulacan. The Women’s Open Division was won by National University-A over NU-B squad. Players of both teams play for the NU women’s basketball team which has dominated UAAP women’s basketball the past three seasons.
The Celebrity Division was won by Team Uy, Uy, Uy which had sports analyst Dominic Uy, PBA legend and coach Vince Hizon and sports analyst Charles Tiu. Their finals opponents were Mongrel Mob which had ex-PBA player and now commercial talent Mark Andaya, TV host Bobby Yan and actor Neil Sese.
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA G League.
The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents.
AXA Philippines is one of the leading and fastest-growing life insurance companies in the Philippines. It was borne out of the formidable synergy between Metrobank, one of the foremost financial institutions in the Philippines, and AXA, a global leader in insurance and asset management serving 107 million customers in 64 countries.
At present, AXA Philippines has more than 800,000 lives insured and covered by individual policies and group life insurance. AXA Philippines has more than 3,000 financial advisers in 37 branches and 693 financial executives in 938 Metrobank and PSBank branches nationwide. In 2016, AXA Philippines entered the non-life insurance business with the acquisition of Charter Ping An, the 5th largest general insurer in the country.
