Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 inks deal to become a professional league

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 made a big move amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas announced that it has inked a deal to professionalize the 3x3 league.

It will be regulated by the Games and Amusement Board and subject to the protocols included in the Joint Administrative Order of GAB, the Inter-Agency Task Force against Emerging and Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Health.

"This will provide our local players the opportunity to explore possibilities [and have] a professional career in the 3x3 league," said league commissioner Eric Altamirano.

"Ang pagiging professional league natin will help strengthen our drive in becoming a dominant force in 3x3 all over the world," he added.

According to GAB chair Abraham Mitra, the license for playing professional 3x3 basketball is different from playing 5x5 basketball.

Altamirano said 12 teams will play in the first conference of the 2020 season, which will start in the third week of September. Games will be held in a 'bubble' in the INSPIRE Sports Academy located in Calamba, Laguna.

Chooks-to-Go 3x3 players such as Alvin Pasaol, Leonard Santillan, Joshua Munzon, Dylan Ababou, and Chico Lanete share their excitement in this new chapter of the league.

"I think it's a step in the right direction to grow the game in the Philippines," Munzon said.

"I'm very excited and personally, going pro is a fulfillment of all our dreams since we were young," said Ababou. —MGP, GMA News