Two competitive Philippine squads will take part in the ASEAN Basketball League 3×3 International Champions Cup this weekend in Bali, Indonesia.
One of them is the Team Platinum Karaoke-Philippines and the four-member group will leave within the week for the two-day cagefest, which returns after a two-year absence because of the pandemic.
They will join the Zamboanga Valientes, with hopes that they will make a podium finish and bring home a medal when they return home. And maybe, they will even have an opportunity to qualify for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour as well.
Gilas Pilipinas guard Juan Gomez de Liano, who just returned from his stint with a B.League club team in Japan, will lead the squad.
De Liano will have Philippines’ no. 19-ranked player Chris de Chavez as one of his teammates in the men’s division.
Coach Anton Altamirano has also gotten the services of Spain’s top player Carlos Martinez and world no. 104-ranked veteran Marcus Hammonds.
“We’re happy to represent the Philippines after having started in the PBA. This will be our first international tournament,” said Altamirano in a virtual huddle with scribes on Zoom.
Team Platinum Karaoke finished second to the Limitless Appmasters in the Philippine Basketball Association 3×3 first conference for the year.
Team Platinum Karaoke and the Valientes will fight for honors against two national teams from Indonesia, as well as squads from Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.
The national teams from the four Southeast Asian countries are using the tournament as part of their preparations for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam this May.
Club teams like the Singapore Slingers, Saigon Heat, Louvre Surabaya and India’s YKBK have also signed up.
“We’re excited to get going. We have been working pretty hard,” said Dechavez of the squad that is managed by Gerber Manahan.
Manahan said the tournament provides great opportunity for Team Platinum to carry the Philippine flag in an international competition.
The event, endorsed by the international federation FIBA with prizes totalling $24,000, is classified as a Lite Quest event and will have both men’s and women’s divisions.
The winners of the men’s and women’s categories will receive $10,000 and $5,000 respectively, and earn a place in a Challenger event, a qualifier for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.