FOR Joshua Munzon, the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3X3 will boost their morale and skills heading into the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in May next year in Graz, Austria.
The national 3×3 team members, like everybody else in the world of sports, were sidelined for seven months because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For now, I just want to focus on this first conference of the Chooks-to-Go 3×3 league. I think this league is the step in the right direction of preparing ourselves for the OQT and we could build momentum from here,” Munzon told BusinessMirror through a private message.
Munzon, a graduate of California State Los Angeles in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II, is part of the national 3X3 squad also composed of fellow Chooks-to-Go player Alvin Pasaol and Philippine Basketball Association stars CJ Perez of Terrafirma and Mo Tautuaa of San Miguel Beer.
Seven squads already entered the Inspire Sports Academy bubble in Calamba, Laguna, on Wednesday, including Munzon and Pasaol of Family’s Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City Chooks, for the inaugural season-opening President’s Cup tournament powered by TM.
Also inside the so-called Calambubble were Uling Roasters-Butuan City, Bacolod Master Sardines, Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, Palayan City Capitals, Porac-Big Boss Cement Green Gorillas and Pasig-Sta. Lucia Realtors.
“It’s all systems go for us,” Commissioner Eric Altamirano told an online press conference on Wednesday. “We can’t wait for all our teams to be there and start playing.”
A preseason tournament for the 12 teams is set on October 19 at the bubble which is a satellite campus of National University.
The first leg will then kick off on October 21 followed by three more legs every other day in the tournament that has Gatorade as its official hydration partner.
Finally, P1 million will be up for grabs in the Grand Finals of the International Basketball Federation 3×3-endorsed tournament on October 30.
The players had to go through another round of tests before entering the state-of-the-art complex. They will undergo a two-day quarantine inside their rooms before being allowed to train.