By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
With the window of preparation for the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament drawing to a close, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) released their final lineup who will represent the Philippines in the first leg of the tourney.
Top two ranked 3×3 players in the PH Alvin Pasaol and Joshua Munzon will be backed-up by PBA stars’ CJ Perez and Moala Tautuaa for one of the most powerhouse squads built by SBP for international tourneys.
With the goal of clinching a Tokyo Olympics spot for 3×3, SBP did a thorough selection towards the forming of their roster and consulted several great basketball minds in the process.
Perez and Tautuaa showed they can perform under the limelight of the 3×3 format after leading the country into a sweeping gold medal finish in the 30th Southeast Asian games while the duo of Pasaol and Munzon was already tested ever since the 3×3 program started.
Gilas 3×3 head coach Stefan Stojajic, a Serbian maestro, is hands-on in their everyday practice and thinks that this lineup can take it as far as the Olympics.
After training camp, the Gilas 3×3 squad together with their coaching staff will fly to Bengaluru, India from March 18 to 22 for the start of the qualifiers.
