A UNIQUE 3x3 basketball tournament that looks to develop players from grassroots level, while also bringing Korean showbiz personalities is set to take place this year.
SBTown and National Basketball League-Pilipinas (NBL) are set to stage the Le P:LAB 3x3 Philippine Champions Cup with a total prize pool of P2 million.
Eight legs will be held across the country in different Robinsons' Malls with the top two teams advancing into the Sweet 16 tournament to start the national finals and determine the champion.
The champion squad will then be competing in an exhibition tournament participated by Korean artists and actors and their counterparts in the Philippines, along with Philippine basketball personalities Jeff Chan, Cyrus Baguio, Willie Miller, and Ranidel De Ocampo.
The culminating event that will also feature fun activities, entertainment, and mini K-Pop, and P-Pop performances is scheduled on August 8 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“We hope this tournament will serve as a platform where young talents in the Philippines can pursue their dreams and where local communities can come together and connect through sports,” said Harim Nam, CEU of P:LAB, a healthcare and lifestyle product brand based on technology developed by the National Research Institute in Korea, during a press conference on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Ortigas.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has endorsed the event across the country.
“There is a huge engagement right now with the success of 3x3 not just in our country but also in the entire planet. 3x3 now is an Olympic sport. And what a good way for our friends from Le P:LAB together with SBTown and NBL that you are able to do the things that we love to do from a federation standpoint, which is to increase the enthusiasm of 3x3 basketball,” said SBP 3x3 program director Ryan Gregorio.
SBTown president and CEU Geong Seong Han said they are looking at discovering talents in basketball after making their name in the entertainment industry by debuting P-Pop idols.
“I have another dream that through this basketball tournament, we could really find new and good talents for them to be exposed to the international stage. We will do our best to help these talents,” said Geong in Korean.
The legs will be held in Region 1 (Pangasinan/La Union/Baguio), Region 2 (Nueva Vizcaya/Quirino/Isabela/Tuguegarao City/Cagayan), Region 3 (Pampanga/Nueva Ecija/Zambales/Bulacan), Metro Manila, Calabarzon (Laguna/Cavite/Mindoro/Quezon/Rizal), Region 5 (Bicol Region), and Cebu, the dates of which to be finalized.
A maximum of 100 teams are being targeted per leg.
“With regards to the development, we will definitely be producing and discovering more talents in the countryside,” said NBL-Pilipinas president Rhose Montreal. “We are aligned with Coach Ryan's goal to discover more talents that can somehow be developed to be part of the international competition.”
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