3×3 olympic qualifying tourney sisiklab sa Austria

Nakatakdang magaganap ang FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifying tournament (OQT) sa Graz, Austria sa May 26 hanggang 30, 2021.

Ito ang unang opisyal na FIBA 3×3 competition sa Austria, ayon sa FIBA.

“The focus of our government in sports is the promotion of trending and green sporting event,” ani Austria Vice-Chancellor at Sports Minister Werner Kogler. “The FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifying tournament combines modernity and sustainability in a unique way.”

Aabot sa 40 teams (20 men’s at 20 women’s) mula sa 36 na iba’t ibang bansa ang sasagupa sa FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifiers. Nakataya sa laban ang anim na tiket para sa Tokyo Olympics — three men’s at three women’s teams ang makapapasok.

Sasabak ang Pilipinas sa men’s 3×3 OQT, na kakatawanin nina Alvin Pasaol, Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, at Moala Tautuaa.

Sina Munzon at Pasaol ang highest-ranked 3×3 players ng Pilipinas habang si Perez at Tautuaa ay bahagi ng national team na nagwagi ng gold sa 3×3 sa 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

“We will be ready come 2021,” ani ni Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 league owner Ronald Mascariñas. “For us in Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3, we will resume operations once the government allows us to do so.”

“We will use that tournament to help keep our players sharp, while also continuing to bring in topnotch coaches like coach Stefan Stojacic to help train the team,” dagdag pa nito.

Makasasama ng Pilipinas sa Group C ang Slovenia, France, Qatar, at Dominican Republic.

“FIBA is delighted that the road to the Olympics will stop in Graz’s iconic Hauptplatz and that the Austrian authorities have vowed to make it the greenest, most sustainable event to date, which is entirely in line with our concept of reduced ecological footprint of 3×3,” ani FIBA executive director Europe Kamil Novak.

“We are very happy to be able to bring this great tournament to Austria,” dagdag naman ni Basketball Austria president Gerald Martens. “It gives our successful national teams a historic chance to make it to the Olympics.”

Ayon sa ulat, gagawa ang local organizers ng temporary outdoor venue na may seating capacity na 2,000 para sa nasabing okasyon.

Kabuuang 16 teams — eight men’s at eight women’s – ang sasabak sa 3×3 event sa Tokyo Olympics. Walong team na ang nakapasok sa Olympics base sa ulat ng FIBA 3×3 Federation noong Nobyembre.

Matapos masungkit ang anim na tiket sa Austria, ang huling dalawang tiket – para sa male at female – ay pag-aagawan naman sa FIBA 3×3 Universality Olympic qualifying tournament sa Budapest, Hungary.