The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is using the upcoming Manila Hustle 3×3 Season 2 tournament as a chance to build the best possible squad for national team duties.
National 3×3 program director Eric Altamirano said during a press conference that the team wants to know which members of the pool will stand out and be added to this year’s FIBA Asia Cup 3×3.
The women’s national 3×3 team is one of the 16 teams duking it out for the crown from 3 to 4 Februaryat the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
“We wanted to use this tournament to evaluate the players in the pool and this gives us a chance to identify who can play in FIBA Asia Cup 3×3,” Altamirano said.
“Very timely we have the Manila Hustle and I think the last two weeks, we have been playing in the other league, the WPBA (Women’s Philippine Basketball Association) 3×3. We wanted to use these tournaments to assess and find out who we can put in the FIBA Asia Cup.”
SBP executive director Erika Dy said with the rest of the Gilas pool spread out in the other teams, she expects every fight will be intense.
“They saw how competitive it was last year so a lot of the teams leveled up,” Dy said.
“The Gilas pool has been spread out so it’s going to be a high-level basketball that we are going to see this weekend,” Dy said.
