Philippine 3x3 cagers Munzon, Pasaol eye to boost chemistry

MANILA, Philippines – As part of the preparation for next year’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Austria, Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol will play side by side to familiarize themselves with one another more when newly turned pro Chooks-to-Go 3x3 Pilipinas League opens next month at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.

And if given permission, the league’s top two players will get to suit up with the rest of the national squad — CJ Perez of Terra Firma and Mo Tautuaa of San Miguel — in one team.

“The one thing that is confirmed right now is they will play together when we start our league,” said league commissioner Eric Altamirano in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association online forum referring to Munzon and Pasaol.

“As for the PBA players, we have not talked to their mother teams as well as the PBA yet because we all know they will be their priority.

“But if given a chance, yes, we can have all of them four players in one team in one of our conferences,” he added.

Pasaol said it is important for the team to get to practice together to get that important spot to Tokyo.

“We have a strong chance of performing well but chemistry will be an important factor,” said Pasaol.

But for now, Altamirano said they would to focus on preparing well for the two conferences they are planning to hold this year.

“More than finishing the tournament, the important thing is if we can do this safely,” he said.

Altamirano is targeting 12 teams and about 100 to 150 individuals that will go inside their “bubble” where they will do several COVID-19 tests and implement strict health protocols.