Philippines vs Rest of the World in third edition of Manila Hustle 3x3

Smart Sports First Vice President and Head of Sports Jude Turcuato, Manila Hustle 3x3 tournament director Peachy Cheng-Medina, and SBP executive director Erika Dy. Photo from Manila Hustle 3x3

CAN the Filipino teams reclaim the crown and defend the home court?

That’s going to be the biggest challenge for the seven local teams in the Manila Hustle 3x3 Season 3 this weekend at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Leading the charge will be the two national teams, Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 Women and Gilas Pilipinas U23 3x3 Women, as they try to rule the 16-team field in this tilt co-presented by Uratex, Smart, and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Jhazmin Joson, Camille Clarin, Mikka Cacho, and Hazelle Yam will be the quartet for the seniors team while Season 1 MVP Kacey dela Rosa will backstop the under-23 crew together with Tine Cayabyab, Cielo Pagdulagan, and Elaine Etang.

Titans, last year’s runner-up, is also back in the fold with Stefanie Berberabe joining the trio of Trina Guytingco, Thai star Bo Supavadee, and Japanese beanpole Lina Nakazawa.

Also feeling the pressure is the country’s top-ranked 3x3 player Kaye Pingol who will lead Uratex Dream together with Afril Bernardino, Sam Harada, and Chinese center Li Renzhu.

But for the former National U standout, having this chip on their shoulder is natural.

“Alam namin kung gaano kabigat yung kalaban this season kaya determined kami, hindi lang yung Dream kung hindi lahat ng Filipino teams, na makapagpakita at manalo,” she said.

Aside from the four, also ready to defend our shores are Army Altama, New Zealand Creamery, and Uratex Tibay.

But it won’t be easy, especially with a bumper crop field out to conquer the half court led by Paris Olympian and world no. 22 Kacie Bosch of Panthers 3x3 from Spain and world no. 55 Ama Degbeon of defending champion Zoos Tokyo.

Panthers emerge as the dark horse in the tourney, not just with Bosch but also Fiba 3x3 Women’s Series veterans Ari Geli, Saicha Grant-Allen, and Christina Buttenham.

Zoos, however, believes that the biggest target is still on its back, with Degbeon still on the lead sans last year’s Most Outstanding Player Aoi Katsura.

Rounding out this season’s casts are Tokyo BB and XD from Japan, Dinoman Hansol of Korea, Royals Basketball of Australia, Jumpshot of Singapore, Shoot It Dragons of Thailand, and Harimau Malaysia.

Competition starts at 10 a.m. with teams playing in a single round robin in four groups of four. The top-seeds will earn an automatic quarterfinal berth while the second and third-place teams fighting in the wildcard of this tourney which also has Titan as official partner, together with Wilson, Seiko, B’lue, Secret Fresh, BDO, Jollibee, TRYP by Wyndham, Jisulife, Rexona, Senka, and Laurin.

At stake in the Philippine 3x3 women’s international invitational is the USD4,000 cash prize and an invitation to the WKBL Triple Jam later this year, with the runner-up bagging USD2,500 and the third placer USD1,500.

Games will be livestreamed on the Manila Hustle 3x3 Facebook page, as well as on the Smart Sports and Puso Pilipinas pages.