20 Feb 2018
MIES (FIBA 3x3 World Tour) - FIBA on Tuesday unveiled the full schedule for the 7th edition of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, which will grow from 8 to 10 events, starting with the Saskatoon Masters in Canada on July 21-22 and culminating with the Bloomage Beijing Final in the Chinese capital on October 27-28.
"Adding two more events to the FIBA 3x3 World Tour is a giant step forward," FIBA 3x3 Managing Director Alex Sanchez said. "It shows the ever-increasing interest for our Olympic sport, especially from new organizers."
Launched in 2012, the annual World Tour is the flagship competition of 3x3 basketball. It sees teams representing cities from around the world qualify for 9 Masters and a Final through a worldwide network of qualifying tournaments and via the FIBA 3x3 Team Ranking.
The best 3x3 players in the world return to the streets of Saskatoon, Utsunomiya, Prague, Lausanne, Debrecen, Chengdu, Mexico City and Beijing in iconic downtown locations, which include Shinto shrines, shopping malls and UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The competition makes its maiden appearance in India and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
As well as the number of events reaching an all-time high, overall prize money will top 1 million USD for the first time ever.
"This is a crucial milestone for us," Sanchez added. "We want to give our current and future stars the financial means to dedicate themselves to the game and bring it to an even more spectacular level."
The top 12 teams in the World Tour standings after the last Masters - including the winners of each stage - qualify for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Bloomage Beijing Final.
FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2018 calendar:
July 21-22 - Saskatoon, Canada
July 28-29 - Utsunomiya, Japan
August 4-5 - Prague, Czech Republic
August 24-25 - Lausanne, Switzerland
August 30-31 - Debrecen, Hungary
September 8-9 - Mexico City, Mexico
September 22-23 – India**
September 29-30 - Chengdu, China
October 13-14 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia*
October 27-28 - Beijing, China – World Tour Bloomage Beijing Final
Zemun Master (SRB) won the last edition of the World Tour on an unbelievable buzzer-beater in Beijing China, on October 28-29, 2017.
A Dunk Contest and a Shoot-out Contest will take place at each FIBA 3x3 World Tour event. An initial list of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2018 Qualifiers will be available shortly on FIBA3x3.basketball.
*originally scheduled on October 6-7
** originally scheduled in Quito, Ecuador
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Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.
It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour (www.fiba.basketball/3x3worldtour) and national-team FIBA 3x3 World & Continental Cups. On 9 June 2017, 3x3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo 2020 Games.
For further information about 3x3, visit fiba3x3.basketball, FIBA 3x3 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Twitter, Youku and YouTube or contact 3x3@fiba.com.