THE fans will play a big role in the Philippines’s campaign in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 3×3 Manila Masters, which kicks off this Saturday at the Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Sonny Barrios appealed to the fans to support the three home teams saying the level of competition has significantly improved.
“Sana pumunta sa Robinsons Place ang mga kababayan natin para suportahan ang tatlong teams natin,” Barrios told Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at Shakey’s Malate.
Defending champion Manila West heads Pool D and will battle Auckland (New Zealand) and Manila South in the preliminaries on Saturday.
The beefed-up Manila North, composed of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel of Alaska and guard Karl Defehesa of Kia and top rookie prospect Troy Rosario, is in Pool B along with Ljubljana of Slovenia and Beirut of Lebanon.
Top seed Novi Sad Alwhada of the United Arab Emirates leads Pool A, along with Medan (Indonesia) and Longshi (China). Last year’s Manila Masters runner-up Doha (Qatar) is bracketed in Group C with Kobe (Japan) and Kaoshiung (Chinese Taipei).
Manial West, composed of Manila Masters’s No.1 3×3 player Terrence Romeo, Aldrech Ramos, Rey Guevarra and Niño Canaleta, is seeded fourth in the two-day tournament while Manila North is ranked 10th.
Manila South, a team from Cebu that won the SBP under-18 3×3 national tournament, is seeded last in the 10-nation tournament at No. 12.
“The teams started their training this week at talagang mabigat ang laban this year. Halos lahat ng teams, nag-beef-up,” Barrios said in the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp..
Doha is bringing back Yaseen Musa and Tanguy Ngombo, a second-round selection (57th overall) by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 National Basketball Association draft.
Beirut, a quarterfinalist in the 2012 Tokyo Masters and 2014 Beijing Masters, is also sending a solid team, while Kobe will parade the dynamic duo of Devaugh Washington and Nyika Williams.
Barrios said the preliminaries, including the slam-dunk and three-point shooting events, will be held on Saturday, while the playoffs and the finals of the side events will be held on Sunday.
Barrios also confirmed that Kobe Paras’s coach in the US turned down the SBP invitation for the rising Filipino star to compete in the slam-dunk contest.