PARA sa huling hirit upang makapasok sa top 24 ang Pilipinas sa FIBA 3X3 World Rankings, nakatakdang mag-host ang Chooks-to-Go ng unang Challenger tournament ng bansa.

Ang Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger ay Level 9 event ng FIBA 3x3. Nakatakda ito sa Setyembre 7-8 sa SM Fairview Events Center.

Magsisilbi ring pasasalamat ng Bounty Agro Ventures Incorporated, ang tagapamahala ng Chooks-to-Go, sa mga Filipino ang liga para sa pagdiriwang ng kompanya ng kanilang ika-22 taong anibersaryo sa Setyembre 2.

“We are celebrating our 22nd anniversary and what a better way for our company to give back is to make one last push for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” pahayag ni Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 league owner at BAVI general manager Ronald Mascariñas.

Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas at Nesthy Petecio, natanggap na house and lot incentives!

“We want to bring a quality tournament to the Filipino people.”

Kasalukuyang may ranggong 27th sa men’s rankings ang Pilipinas at kinakailangan nilang umabot sa top 24 sa Oktubre 31, 2019 upang magkaroon ng slot sa Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

“To put it quite simply, it’s very crucial for us to host a level-nine tournament especially in this stage in the race for the FIBA 3X3 OQT,” ayon pa kay Mascariñas.

Nagpapasalamat din siya sa Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas sa pagtulong sa kanilang kompanya para maging host ng ika-23 edisyon ng kabuuang 28 challengers.

“Last April, we hosted the world’s first-ever Super Quest which is a level eight tournament. I would like to thank FIBA for granting us this new opportunity. Even if they already have 27 Challengers in their calendar and still they allowed us to host this one. Also, the SBP has been a huge help in this endeavor.”

Tatlong lokal na koponan ang lalahok sa torneo na kinabibilangan ng teams world 27th-ranked Pasig, President’s Cup champions Isabela City (Basilan), at 2-time Chooks 3x3 runner-up Balanga.

Kabilang sa mga dayuhang koponang kalahok sa torneong magsisilbi ding qualifier para sa Jeddah Masters sa Oktubre 18-19 ay ang world no. 2 Riga ng Latvia, no. 5 Amsterdam ng Netherland, no. 10 Gagarin ng Russia, no. 15 Kranj ng Slovenia, no. 25 Ulaanbaatar ng Mongolia, at Humpolec ng Czech Republic.

Bagamat malalakas at pawang mga world class ang makakalaban, nangako namang hindi pahuhuli ang mga local teams.

“For me, this tournament has been a long time coming for our country,” pahayag ni Balanga player Karl Dehesa, naglaro sa Manila North noong 2015 Manila Masters. “The fans will definitely give us a huge boost.”

“For the past year, we’ve been traveling a lot. Though it’s not an excuse, having to travel is very tiring in itself. This time around, we could play our game,” ayon kay Dylan Ababou ng Pasig.