Ronald Mascariñas ups stakes for 2020 Chooks-to-Go 3x3 season

 

BAVI head / Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 owner Ronald Mascariñas

With an eye on getting the Philippines into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics via the Olympic Qualifiers, Ronald Mascariñas concocted a unique way of getting the national team prepared for the competition.

The Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 owner set up incentives for the eleven other teams to aspire for against the Zamboanga City-Family's Brand Sardines-Chooks, who are composed of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike, and Leonard Santillan. The quartet comprise four of the top six Filipinos in the 3x3 rankings.

Aside from the PhP 100,000 top prize in each of the first four legs of the President's Cup, whoever team Zamboanga City faces in the finals of each leg will also pocket the same amount. The financial incentive provides the caveat that ZC needs to be in the finals for the opposing team to earn that windfall.

The losing finalist normally will only receive PhP 30,000, while finishing third nets that team PhP 20,000.

Mascariñas shares, "This season of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 is really to help our national team get ready for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Graz, Austria next year. We can’t just let them train without actually facing competition. It won’t make sense." He adds, "But we also have to reward the teams that have taken the time and effort to face them. That is why we raised the stakes for our first conference."

Originally scheduled to take place last March 18-22 in Bangalore, India, the OQT has since been moved to next year in Austria as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President's Cup powered by TM is set to start on October 2 at the Inspire Academy in Laguna, with subsequent legs scheduled on October 4, 16, and 18. The Grand Finals, which has a PhP 1,000,000 prize for the champions, PhP 300,000 for second place and PhP 100,000 for third place, will occur on November 7. Dates are still tentative pending approval from the IATF, as the body has yet to give its approval for the league to conduct scrimmages.

Looking to take advantage of those incentives are Butuan City-Uling Roasters, Bacolod-Masters Sardines, Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, Palayan City Capitals, Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes-MLV, Porac-Big Boss Cement Green Gorillas, Bicol 3x3 Pro, Pasig-Sta. Lucia Realtors, Saranggani Marlins, Pagadian City-Rocky Sports Valientes, and an unidentified team supported by Petra Cement.