THE 3x3 basketball competitions in the Asian Games are restricted only for players age 23 and under.
The age limit obviously was the reason behind why naturalized player Malick Diouf wasn’t included in the Gilas Pilipinas quartet bound to the 20th Asiad set in Nagoya, Japan later this month.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas named Nick Cabanero, Koji Buenaflor, Doy Dungo, and Luis Pablo to the Philippine 3x3 men’s team that will be handled by former PBA player turned coach Patrick Fran.
Cabanero and Pablo are both 22 years old, Dungo is 21 and Buenaflor 20.
Diouf, whose been naturalized last July specifically for the 3x3 program under former champion coach Ryan Gregorio, is already 27 years old.
“Puro youth tournaments kasi ang nakapila, pati ang Asian Games 3x3 is an under-23 tournament,” said SBP executive director Erika Dy.
Diouf remains part of the 3x3 men’s pool that also includes Jerrick Ahanmisi, Chris Koon, Ralph Cu, Javi Gomez De Liano, Abu Tratter, Yukien Andrada, Dominic Fajardo, and Rob Herndon.
The Olympic Council of Asia, which supervises the Asiad, decided to use the multi-sport regional platform to prioritize younger talent and build international experience for the rising generation of 3x3 specialists when the half-court game was finally included in the calendar of sports of the quadrennial showcase starting in Hangzhou, China four years ago.
At the same time, keeping the 3x3 at the Under-23 level prevents direct competition or overloading with the premier senior 5-on-5 national team tournament, which features an open age format, and usually runs concurrently or closely within major sports calendars, according to OCA.
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