The Sri Lanka Basketball Federation (SLBF) announced their latest venture with hosting of the upcoming International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3X3 Basketball Nations League where male and female teams are set to hit the basketball court in Sri Lanka.
The tournament has been scheduled to take place from 18th to the 20th August, 2017 at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Outdoor Courts in Ratmalana. Basketball teams from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia, Jordan, Uganda and Sri Lanka will be participating at the 3X3 Nations League qualifying round, Under 23 (U23) Men & Women’s category.
The 3X3 tournament has been described to include similarities to the T20 Cricket format and this concept had proven to be popular amongst the Basketball fraternity across the globe.Sri Lanka has been noted to have fast improved on the world ranking table for 3X3 Basketball with Sri Lanka’s own player Brent Thevakumar (U18 Men) who has been ranked as No. 11 in the world, is testimony to the progress that had been made thus far by home-grown players. Sri Lanka currently stands at No. 51 on the World Rank and at No. 10 on the Zone Rank. The U23 Men’s team has been placed at No. 44 and the U23 Women’s team today are at No. 37 on the World Rank.
Alongside the tournament, SLBF will also organize a 3X3 Basketball Invitational Tournament and a workshop for children under the age of 17 with the aim of adding more excitement and vigour to the event and to promote 3X3 Basketball among school children. The event funding is sourced by the SLBF through sponsorships and FIBA.
Commenting on the initiative taken up by SLBF to host the tournament, SLBF President Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe stated, “We are delighted to host this year’s FIBA Nations League and to host team members from seven countries including Sri Lanka. The FIBA Nations League has recently been denoted as an instrumental event that has taken up the Asian Basketball frat by storm and has gradually penetrated the global basketball landscape as well. We see a lot of enthusiastic youth who have taken to the concept of 3X3 and we look forward to witness this exciting sport unfold.”
3X3 or 3 by 3 as it is best known has been deemed as a well-known basketball format that was long played on the streets and gyms across the world but in a less formal way. The concept originated during the 1980s, three-by-three was standardized throughout the United States, most notably through the Gus Macker and Hoop It Up tournament series, which held large events across the country that invited teams and players from all skill levels. Since then, the number of 3X3 events and competitions has been steadily growing around the world.
FIBA (The World Governing Body of Basketball) took the decision to first test the 3X3 concept at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau. Further test events were held the following year in the Dominican Republic and Indonesia. The international debut was at the 2009 Asian Youth Games with 19 teams in the boys’ tournament and 16 teams in the girls’ tournament which took place in Singapore.
Finally, 3×3 made its worldwide competitive debut at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. The competition featured 20 teams in both boys’ and girls’ categories. The competition was held in Singapore. Since then the Nations League tournament was open and today, the U18 categories are held on a regular basis. Following the success of the tournament in Singapore, FIBA went on to launch a full programme to make 3X3 a stand-alone discipline with its own regular competitions. On 9thJune 2017, 3×3 was added as an Olympic event to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
World top (Under 23 Men & Women) players featuring in this tournament;
Men
Vojtěch Rudický – Czech Republic World Rank 04
Tjaž Rotar – Slovenia World Rank 05
Women
Sára Krumpholcová – Czech Republic World Rank 01
Tereza Frgalová- Czech Republic World Rank 07
Photo Caption: 1. Fairfirst Insurance LTD Sasith Bambaradeniya hands over the Main Sponsorship to SLBF President Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe
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