Shooting stars at NBA 3X 2014

MANILA, Philippines - It was a star-studded NBA 3X Philippines 2014 presented by Sprite at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall held last July 6 as nearly two dozen celebrities played basketball in the Celebrity Division of the National Basketball Association’s fourth consecutive 3x3 event.

Derek Ramsay, Aljur Abrenica, Fabio Ide, Marco Alcaraz, Luis Alandy, Bobby Yan, Rovilson Fernandez, Will Devaugn, Jay-R, Robin DaRoza, Joross Gamboa and Ervic Vijandre; running guru Rio de la Cruz, Volcano Eric Tai, coaches Vince Hizon and Allan Gregorio and Perlas Pilipinas player Melissa Jacob together with Jinno Rufino of Solar Sports, Mark Zambrano of GMA and Anton Roxas and Marco Benitez of ABS-CBN Sports and Manila’s top male models played competitive ball in front of the Sunday mall crowd and wowed on the last day of the three-day NBA 3x3 basketball competitions and side events.

Derek came straight from a shooting at Subic to do some more shooting — this time around with hoops instead of film rolls. “I’m kinda spinning around because of no sleep. But it’s nice to see good sportsmanship, good competition and we get to see the professionals come out and watch us play.” Although he may not be a newcomer to basketball, Derek admits that he hasn’t “touched the basketball in a long time. I’m used to throwing a Frisbee around, but I used to do this back in the day when I played for PBA in 2004. But it’s been awhile since I’ve done basket shots.”

Aljur was overwhelmed with the opportunity to play with other personalities. “Nasa isang industriya lang naman kami, nag-kaka-lapit lapit pero hindi kami masyadong nagkakasama-sama. It’s a good chance for us to practice sportsmanship and get to know each other better. We just really enjoyed the game. It’s a big honor to be playing here because this is an NBA event.”

Jay-R, another first-timer to NBA 3X, said “The competition was very fierce. I wish I could have practiced more.”

The Games’ sole female competitor gave the guys a run for their money. Melissa Jacob of the Women’s National Basketball Team, Perlas Pilipinas, said everyone played hard and had a good time.

“They didn’t take it easy on me, so it’s good,” she said. “I had to adjust my playing style a bit, maybe to protect myself a little more because guys are stronger than girls. But the game and the fun are pretty much the same. Basketball is basketball.”

Team Alcaraz, led by Marco and backed up by Luis, Ervic and Jack, ruled the Celebrity Division of NBA 3X Philippines 2014 which was presented by Sprite for the second straight year.