BY ABBY TORALBA
EXPECT a bigger and better edition of the Manila Hustle 3×3 in its second season as local and foreign teams spice up the coming tourney this weekend at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
From 12 teams in the maiden season, 16 squads will tussle for the title in the tilt presented by Uratex and Smart.
“So last year was a really very exciting (competition), we had 12 teams, but there were a lot of points for improvement so this year we said we’re going to improve, our tagline is bigger and better,” tournament director Peachy Medina said during a press conference last Tuesday at the Microtel Wyndham Mall of Asia. “So first things first, we moved to a bigger venue which is double the size of what we have last year.
“So, it opens up a lot of possibilities like we now have a fan zone and then we have a practice court which is very important in improving the quality of the game so you can do some shooting before the game,” she added.
Camille Clarin, Mikka Cacho, Monique del Carmen, and Tin Cayabyab will banner the Gilas Pilipinas Women.
Uratex will be led by Kaye Pingol and Chinese reinforcement Renzhu Li, Uratex Tibay will be spearheaded by Afril Bernardino and Spanish dazzler Ari Geli and Titans will be bolstered by Thai star Supavadee Kunchuan, Jhazmin Joson, and Katrina Guytingco.
Local teams Discovery Perlas, Bluefire LPG and Army Altama are out to prove their worth along with last year’s semifinalist Dinoman Hansol of Korea, captained by Kim Dunarang. Japanese teams Tokyo Dime, Owls.EXE, Zoos Tokyo of world No. 25 Aoi Katsura, Shoot It Dragons of Thailand and Jumpshot of Singapore are also returning.
