THE Austria shutout won't discourage the Philippine Basketball Association from pursuing the launch of the PBA 3x3 and the aspiration to help the growth of the sport in the country leading to Olympic entry in the future.
"I'm not disheartened nor discouraged. I'm actually encouraged even more to push for the PBA 3x3 for us to be able to help develop Filipino 3x3 players," said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.
"Nakita natin sa Austria, kulang ang experience natin sa international 3x3. Mas babad ang mga kalaban sa 3x3 tour, kaya mas malawig ang knowledge nila sa laro. Austria is an eye opener and learning experience for us," Marcial added.
On the heels of Gilas Pilipinas' 0-4 showing in the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Graz, Austria, the PBA is presenting the pilot PBA 3x3 a month after the kickoff of PBA Season 46 5x5 play late June or early July.
Sixteen teams, including six non-PBA regulars, slug it out in PBA 3x3 with a target of four legs in the initial season.
Sponsored content: And this is part of PBA's support to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in its quest to bring the country back to the Olympics, probably in Paris in 2024.
In addition, the PBA is providing around 100 jobs in this new endeavor.
A sad note, though, was the poor showing of Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Moala Tautuaa and Leonard Santillan in Graz, Austria joust.
They lost all four games in pool play, bowing to Qatar, 12-21; Slovenia, 11-21; Dominican Republic, 11-22; and to France, 14-15.
After dropping their initial two games to Qatar and Slovenia Wednesday, compounding Gilas' woes was an injury preventing Tautuaa from suiting up in their last two games. (SB)
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