Philippines to compete in first ever FIBA esports tournament

The Philippines will compete in the first ever FIBA Esports Open from June 19 to June 21.

In a press release, FIBA announced the launch of the tournament, which will be played in the NBA 2K.

Other participating teams include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Cyprus, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

"The esports initiative was identified by the FIBA Central Board as important and consistent with the strategic objective to enlarge the FIBA Family," said Frank Leenders, FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General.

"In these challenging times, we feel encouraged by the enthusiasm of some of our National Federations who are already active in this space and have been our charter partners during the last few months," he added.

A team will have seven players, five of which will be on the court and two reserves. The game will be played using Pro-AM mode and will allow customization of player avatars, uniforms, and arena designs.

The games will be livestreamed on FIBA's Facebook, Twitch and YouTube channels with live commentary in English. —MGP, GMA News