In a massive boost for the sport in the country, the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) will host the FIBA 3x3 (three on three) All-Stars event for three years in a row beginning with the inaugural event at Katara on December 12. The event offers a total purse of $120,000.
Organisers expect packed crowds to witness some frenetic high-octane action when six of the world’s best teams take to the courts near the Katara amphitheatre to showcase their skills in a fast-developing version of basketball that has taken the world by storm.
The teams taking part are Brezovica (Croatia), Caracas (Venezuela), FC Barcelona (Spain), Nagoya (Japan), Novi Sad (Serbia) and Doha.
Doha will be represented by Khalid Suliman Abdi, Mohamed Seleem Abdulla, Yaseen Musa and Boney Watson.
The Doha side will take on Japan’s Nagoya in the first match followed by an encounter against Brezovica of Slovenia.
Tournament director Sadoun al-Kuwari, who is also the executive director of the QBF, told reporters yesterday that Qatar was looking at boosting the popularity of basketball by attracting players to the 3x3 version.
“3x3 basketball is gaining popularity worldwide and the FIBA is promoting it in a big way. We in Qatar also want to develop the sport in the country,” al-Kuwari said.
Although the main event is on December 12, several other attractions have been programmed around it, including a performance by acrobatic dunkers, a schools tournament for kids under 12 and other assorted entertainment.
“It’s going to be a festive atmosphere at Katara where families and children can enjoy the activities besides watching some great basketball action,” al-Kuwari added.
Al-Kuwari said the stars will be visiting various schools in Qatar to interact with kids and entertain them with their special skills. “The players visiting the schools will encourage the kids to take up the sport,” he said adding that the format has been introduced to the Qatar Olympic Committee organised Schools Olympic Program.
The crowd will also get to watch one of the best dunk contests in the world in which top players like Rafal ‘Lipek’ Lipiski, Dmitry ‘Smoove’ Krivenko and Kristaps ‘Latvian Sensation’ Dargais will showcase their skills.
Similar 3x3 events were also staged at Villaggio Mall, City Center Mall and Katara earlier this year with each championship drawing huge crowds.
A day after the FIBA 3x3 event, QBF will organise two more championships—the 3x3 Clubs Tournament for men and Doha Jam.
The 3x3 Individual World Ranking is a revolutionary tool where team-sport players are ranked individually. It currently lists more than 42,000 3x3 players based on the amount of points they have won at FIBA-endorsed events.
Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 basketball is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a standard half-court.
It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore and since then has benefitted from the launch of a yearly city-based 3x3 World Tour (www.3x3worldtour.com) and national-team world championships.
There is also a move to include it in the Summer Olympics.