Stage set for inaugural Senior 3x3 National Basketball Championship

The stage is set for the inaugural Senior National 3×3 Basketball Championship, which gets underway at the Thayagraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from April 11. The two-day event is of immense significance as the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has to assess the national talents before picking the Indian team for upcoming international tournaments.

It may be pertinent to mention that the country scaled a new high in 3×3 basketball when the Indian women’s basketball team clinched the gold at the 3rd Asian Beach Games held in Haiyang last year – an event where it overcame hosts China 17-14 in the final. In fact, the Indian women cagers maintained an all-win record, winning all their five matches.

According to the Basketball Federation of India sources, eight top players in both the men and women section will be selected for the upcoming international tournaments. Indian men’s team would participate in the Asian 3×3 Basketball Championship, slated to be held at Doha on May 15 and 16.

The women’s tournament is scheduled to be held in June – the details of this event are still awaited.

A week later, the Basketball Federation of India is holding the first National 3×3 Under-18 Basketball Championship at Ludhiana on April 18 and 19.

The tournament will enable the national selectors to pick the Indian under-18 boys and girls teams for the Asian Under-18 3×3 Basketball Championship, which is slated to be held at Bangkok from May 22-24.

It is learnt that the Basketball Federation of India is keen to conduct 3×3 nationals annually.

Basketball Federation of India CEO Roopam Sharma, who is also the chairman of the FIBA-Asia 3on3 committee, is taking active interest in promoting the latest version of basketball in the country.

The 3×3 version of basketball was first unveiled as a demonstration sport at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games held in Macau, where Iran had won the gold medal.

The 3×3 version of basketball was introduced on the international stage a couple of years later at the 2009 Asian Youth Games held in Singapore, where China won the gold.

The 3×3 basketball further gained prominence at the inaugural FIBA 3×3 U-18 World Basketball Championship held in Rimini, Italy in 2011. New Zealand won the championship on that occasion.

FIBA is keen to narrow the gap between the USA and other countries as far as 3×3 basketball is concerned with an aim to create a level playing field. The world body is sparing no effort to launch the 3×3 version in the 2016 Rio Olympics.