Maiden PBA 3x3 tilt unfurls Saturday in Pasig City

After several delays and drawbacks, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is finally set to open the curtains for its inaugural 3x3 tournament on Saturday, November 20, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

13 teams—10 of which will carry the flag of their PBA counterparts while three are guest teams—are tipped to join the tournament which will be composed of three conferences.

Each conference will stage six two-day legs and a grand final. All teams were bunched in a specific pool in a draw held last November in the same venue.

The Limitless Appmasters (Phoenix Super LPG), Purefoods TJ Titans (Magnolia), TNT Tropang Giga, and guest teams Platinum Karaoke and Zamboanga Valientes are grouped in Pool A.

Composing Pool B are Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the Meralco Bolts, the Sista Super Sealers (Rain or Shine), and the Terrafirma Dyip.

The CAVITEX Braves (NLEX), NorthPort Batang Pier, San Miguel Beermen, and guest team Pioneer Pro Tibay, meanwhile, are in Pool C.

Blackwater and Alaska have opted not to field teams in the tournament.

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— PBA3x3 (@PBA_3x3) November 19, 2021

The top three teams in Pool A and top two finishers in Pools B and C after the preliminary round will advance to the quarterfinals. The third squad in both Pool B and C will square off in a knockout stage to determine the last quarterfinalist.

All games in the playoff round will be knockout matches.

With the tournament finally hitting the ground running, PBA 3x3 chairman and Alaska governor Dicky Bachmann said they are hoping to stage more three-a-side events in the future.

"Basically, we planned this for two years and finally, we're launching it and hopefully, we can make this a regular event," he said.

—JMB, GMA News