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| The Philippine brand of 3x3 basketball will be seen in next year's OQT in India. Chooks-To-Go (file photo) |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA—The nine months of hard work for the Philippines to get a shot at the first Olympic 3x3 event finally bore fruit.
On Friday night, FIBA announced that the Philippines qualified in the men's division of the first Olympic Qualifying Tournament in India from March 18-22, 2020.
The said qualification was formalized in a special gala dinner to kick off the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals in Utsunomiya, Japan.
The Philippines was grouped in Pool C of the preliminary round, joining Slovenia, France, Qatar, and Dominican Republic.
The top three teams in the OQT per gender will qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo, joining host country Japan, China, Serbia, and Russia.
China, Serbia, and Russia are the top three countries in the men's 3x3 rankings as of Thursday, the last day to rack up 3x3 points for either the Olympics or the two OQT's, the second of which, known as the Universality OQT, taking place in April next year in Budapest.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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