And according to top Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials, the country will play a significant role in spreading the popularity of the discipline worldwide.
“We were chosen by Fiba as a model for its 3×3 event,” said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios.
Popularly known as three-on-three street basketball, Fiba, the world governing body in the sport, has renamed it 3×3.
The event is now a major Fiba tournament, which culminates in a world championship after the zonal and continental qualifiers.
Handpicked as the discipline’s ambassador, the Philippines is more than capable to host Fiba 3×3, Barrios pointed out.
“Basketball is being played here everywhere. Even on the streets,” said Barrios, who touched base with the Fiba top brass along with SBP consultant Moying Martelino in a meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, last month.
“In fact, I was telling Fiba officials that 3×3 is regularly being played by people from all walks of life in the Philippines,” he added.
Fiba 3×3 first burst into global consciousness during the 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last year where the Philippine team wound up ninth among 20 countries.
source by June Navarro, Philippine Daily Inquirer
0 comments:
Post a Comment