Former University of the East standout Alvin Pasaol will continue playing in 3×3 competitions here and abroad with teammate Karl Dehesa to help the Philippines move up in the world rankings, and make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Pasaol said he skipped playing for the UE Warriors in the ongoing 82nd University Athletic Association of the Philippines, and believes that his sacrifice should be worth it.
“Oo naman. Isang sakripisyo ito. Pero nagbunga naman,” said the 23-year-old Pasaol after meeting with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas league owner Ronald Mascariñas in the company’s Ortigas offices.
Pasaol will continue playing 3×3 basketball under the guidance of coach Eric Altamirano and will give up another dream, which is to join the coming draft of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Mascariñas informed the players that the Philippines has gone up to no. 21 in the FIBA 3X3 men’s world rankings.
This happened after the Philippines accumulated a total of 8,156,366 points with the staging of the 2019 Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3×3 series, at the end of the season last Sunday.
This puts the Philippines inside the top 24. The country is now qualified to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
To stay within the top 24, the Philippines will have to play more high ranking tournaments before the Oct. 31, 2020 deadline.
Pasaol and Dehesa will now see action in two more tournaments in Jeju, South Korea and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this October.
On the other hand, the staging of three conferences has helped the Philippines move up in the rankings.
In order to help the Philippines keep its position, Mascariñas said they will have to organize more local tournaments and hold them on a twice-a-week basis.
“After all the efforts, we were able to move up by around 41 ranks higher,” said Mascarinas.