Bigger Manila Hustle 3x3 assured in return

Peachy Medina, Erika Dy, and Jude Turcuato with reps from the teams present at the press conference

The second edition of Manila Hustle 3x3 is bigger and better, team organizers promise during the press conference for the competition held at the Mall of Asia branch of Microtel by Wyndham.

Tournament director Peachy Medina shares, "We want everybody to be aware of how women's basketball has developed. We like everyone to see how it has progressed."

The first edition saw twelve teams participate at Robinsons' Magnolia facility last year, with the Lady Macbeth Riots claiming the title over Army Altama in the final.

Slated to take place this Saturday and Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, sixteen teams comprise the field, led a Gilas Women side seeking to build a core for the coming year in 3x3 basketball.

Present in the presser are a couple of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials in Executive Director Erika Dy and 3x3 program director Eric Altamirano. The NSA serves as the tournament's official technical partner.

Altamirano shares about the team's participation, "We wanted to use this tournament to evaluate the players in the pool and this gives us a chance to identify who can play in FIBA Asia Cup 3x3."

Dy, a noted advocate for women's basketball. adds about the tournament, "It's really when stakeholders come up with tournaments like this that contributes to the industry and that really elevates the game."

Aside from the SBP, serving as additional partners to the tournament presented by Uratex and SMART are Seiko Prospex as the official timekeeper, and B'lue for official hydration. Acting as sponsors are Titan, Wilson, Green Cross, Secret Fresh, BDO, Laurin CocoMCT, Peloton Workforce, Senka, Pinesbel Manufacturing, Tsubaki, IFern, Evercool Radiator, Home Suite Furniture, and Quality Corrugated Box Manufacturing, and Aquaflask.

Leading the local cast are losing finalists Army Altama, and Uratex, who has two teams in the field with the Kaye Pingol-led Dream and Afril Bernardino-led Tibay.

Nine teams from across the continent have confirmed participation, including Dinoman Hansol, who made it the semifinals. Japanese .EXE teams Tokyo Dime and Owls, as well as Zoos Tokyo are also seeking to spoil the local party as well.

Set to make their debuts are Unicle (Korea), Royals Basketball (Australia) and Shiv Nadar School (India), while representing ASEAN pride are Shoot It Dragons (Thailand) and Jumpshot (Singapore).

Fans interested to watch can do so through the SMART Livestream app, as well as through the Puso Pilipinas page on Facebook, with the latter and SMART Sports being Manila Hustle's media partners. Those watching at the venue can also partake of the fan zone set to be in place for the two-day tournament.