Cebu-Max4 Birada’s Rey Suerte and the rest of his team will play host to the second leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3. |Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Queen City of the South is all set to host the opening of the second conference of the Chooks-to-Go 3×3 on June 1 at the SM Seaside City Cebu.
Coming off the success of the biggest 3×3 basketball festival in the world last January, league owner Ronald Mascarinas shook the country’s basketball scene with his latest announcement.
“I’m glad to announce that the second conference of our league will open in Cebu on June 1,” said Mascariñas.
“With the support we got from the basketball-loving Cebuanos last January, we made sure to bring our league to them,” he continued.
Read more: All set for Chooks to Go SBP 3×3 Basketball Tournament in Cebu
Last January, Chooks-to-Go and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas organized the biggest two-day 3×3 basketball tourney the world has ever seen. A FIBA-record 3,043 participants from Sisters of Mary School Boystown and Girlstown played during the weekend of January 12 to 13.
Read more: After breaking Fiba 3×3 record, Mascariñas says ‘We’re not done yet’
Unlike the President’s Cup, adding spice to the second conference is that each team will be allowed to field an import in the Patriots’ Cup.
“The second conference will be a reinforced conference. We are going to allow one foreign player to play per team,” unveiled league commissioner, Eric Altamirano.
“For the number of legs, we will limit it to at least five legs. Currently, FIBA might ask us to host another Super Quest as the sixth leg just like the President’s Cup,” he said.
Home team Cebu-Max4 Birada will make their return together with the 11 pioneering squads of the league, namely Bacoor Strikers, Bataan Strikers, Bulacan Kuyas, Marikina Shoemasters, Pasay Voyagers, Pasig-Grindhouse Kings, Quezon City-Zark’s Jawbreakers, San Juan-Go for Gold Knights, Valenzuela Classic, Vigan Baluarte Wolves, and Zamboanga Valientes.
Besides this, the league is also looking to add four more teams, including the possibility of adding two teams from Indonesia and Japan.
“We are looking at retaining the 12 pioneering teams. If there will be additions, we need to have at least four additional teams. We need to add teams by four for scheduling purposes. So it’s either four to eight teams,” said Altamirano.
“Currently, we have received interest from a couple of international teams as well. An Indonesian club and a Japanese club already talked to us during the Super Quest,” said Mascariñas./dbs