MANILA, Philippines –Three Philippine clubs will have their hands full in the maiden leg of the Asia Tour 3×3 starting Saturday, April 22, at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Kaye Pingol banners Uratex Dream with teammates Sam Harada, Eunique Chan, and Shanda Anies; Uratex Tibay will have Blanche Bahuyan, Ford Grajales, Ma. Cecilia Junsay, and Julia Barroquillo; while Discovery Perlas brings in Allana Lim, Raiza Palmera-Dy, Hazelle Yam, and Sai Larosa.

Defending the home turf, however, will be a tall order, as three national teams are also in the mix in this eight-team women’s division in the brand new international 3×3 competition tipping off at 11 am.

Vietnam Red & Gold, which took home the silver medal in the last Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, is bringing in a formidable squad with twins Truong Thao My and Truong Thao Vy and Huynh Thi Ngoan joined by newcomer Nguyen Thi Tieu Duy.

Singapore Lioness will then parade Dania Nah, Sara Choong, Lydia Ang, and Kang Yi Tan, while Harimau Malaysia A got Suet Ying Foo, Yin Jie Tan, Ke Hui Toh, and Sin Jie Tan.

Completing the cast are Harimau Malaysia B which has Sammi Tan, Pei Jie Tan, Venn Ji Chan, and Chah Yee Wong; and Thai club Sniper which has Supavadee Kunchuan, Khwanjira Thongdaeng, Piyanuch Sriprem, and Warangkhana Sirisathaphornsap.

Sister teams Uratex Dream and Uratex Tibay were drawn in Pool A together with Harimau A and Vietnam Red & Gold, while Pool B has Discovery Perlas, Harimau B, Sniper, and Singapore Lioness in this tourney which has SM as venue partner, Smart as broadcast partner, and Wilson as official gameball, with Heritage Hotel, Fiber Kinetics, and Gatorade as sponsors.

Only the top two teams will advance to the crossover semifinals with the winners facing off in the championship game. 

The champion will take home the US $5,000 cash prize while the runner-up will bag US $2,500 in this FIBA Lite Quest level five event. – Rappler.com