FIBA says Qatar driving 3x3 format’s success

If 3x3 basketball indeed makes it to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, much of the credit for it will go to the Qatar Basketball Federation led by Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.Qatar’s huge involvement in basketball’s abridged format, in which only three players represent one team on a half-sized court with only one hoop, has not escaped the game’s governing body FIBA’s attention.“Qatar has been one of the biggest promoters of 3x3 basketball. The facilities they provided and the standard of the tournaments held in Doha over the years have been mind-blowing,” FIBA Vice-President Hamane Niang told journalists in Doha yesterday.Niang, who is in Qatar to witness the FIBA 3x3 All Stars event to be held at the Qatar Basketball Federation’s facility in Al Gharafa today, said it was Qatar which first saw the tremendous potential the 3x3 format had in terms of worldwide popularity and appeal.Qatar’s rise in the format has been phenomenal, the country winning the 2014 World Championship after having clinched the Asian crown the previous year.In that sense “you are true visionaries”, Malian Niang said referring to the Qatar Basketball Federation at a press conference held on the eve of the FIBA 3x3 All Stars.FIBA will be presenting its case for the inclusion of 3x3 basketball in the Olympics to the International Olympic Committee in February next year, with a favourable decision expected in July.“The success of the format no doubt justifies its inclusion in the Olympics,” added FIBA 3x3 director Alex Niang, who also attended the press conference.The sport was included in the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore and will also feature at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018. He said that it was Qatar which helped 3x3 basketball create more “media noise” which raised the profile of the game.“Qatar is a good example for any other federation when it comes to the promotion of a game,” added Alex Niang.Today’s 3x3 All Stars will be the last edition of the event after which Qatar will become part of the World Tour from next year onwards.“Again it was Qatar’s suggestion that the FIBA 3x3 All Stars be scrapped to make the World Tour stronger,” added Alex Niang,Meanwhile, Serbian 3x3 superstar Dusun Domovic Bulut will be aiming to become a three-time winner of the 3x3 All Stars today.His team Novi Sad Al Wahda (previously Novisad) will take on some of the best 3x3 players in the world in the event featuring eight teams.Bulut, known as “Mr Bullet Proof”, is acknowledged as the best 3x3 basketball player in the world, having swept several MVP awards during his career.“The level of the tournament this time is higher than that of previous years because we are getting more and more professional players playing the format,” said the 30-year-old Bulut, whose team won the Qatar event in 2014 and 2015 and is aiming for a hat-trick.“We are looking forward to winning the 20,000 dollar prize,” the 2016 World Cup winner for Serbia said with a confident smile. Today’s 3x3 All Stars Schedule 4.45pm: Shoot-out qualificationQuarter-finals5pm: McGill University vs Ljubljana 5.25pm: Saskatoon vs New York Harlem NBA6pm: Doha vs Hamatasu6.25pm: Novi Sad Al Wahda vs ManilaSemi-finals7pm: Winner QF 3 vs winner QF 4 7.35pm: Winner QF 1 vs Winner QFFinal8.20pm: Winner SF 1 vs winner SF 28.50pm: Prize ceremony9pm: Qatar Under-18 vs Philippines