SINGAPORE: The highly anticipated FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup will be back in Singapore for its sixth edition and will be held for the first time at the OCBC Square, Singapore Sports Hub from Mar 29 to Apr 2. Tickets for the tournament, priced at $5 and limited day passes are available for purchase on the Singapore Sports Hub website in early Feb. Fans can expect a total of 80 games, with 40 in the qualification draw and the rest of the matches in the main draw.
The Singapore men’s team are in Pool A alongside top-ranked team Mongolia and the winning team of the qualifying Draw A between Chinese Taipei, Tahiti, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The Republic’s women’s team are in Pool B and they will be pitting their skills against Chinese Taipei and Japan.
China and Australia won the FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup women’s and men’s titles respectively last year which took place at Marina Bay Sands. In the women’s category, FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022 bronze medalist China picked up their first Asia Cup title as they defeated Australia 14-10. Over in the men’s event, Australia was up against traditional rival New Zealand in a hotly contested, but the former kept their cool as they won 21-17. Crowned champions last year, both China women’s and Australia men’s teams qualified for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023.
It was announced last year that Singapore will be hosting this prestigious tournament for three editions – 2023, 2024, and 2025.
“After such an exciting return to Singapore this year, we couldn’t be happier to establish the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in the country long term. This will allow us to build an even greater and more engaged community of fans in Singapore and solidify the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup as one of the highlights of the 3×3 season,” said Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Secretary General.
This year’s event will tip off with the men’s matches from the qualifiers, with Chinese Taipei scheduled to take on Tahiti on Day 1 (Mar 29) at 11 am followed by Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The women’s matches will be next with New Zealand going up against Tahiti at 11.50 am and then Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong. The qualifying draw matches will continue until late night and into the second day, with matches for the main draw only starting on Mar 31. The knock-out stages are slated for Apr 2, starting with the quarter-finals at 11.40 am and the final at 7.20 pm on the same day.
The winners of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 – if not already qualified – will qualify for one of the FIBA 3×3 Olympic qualifying tournaments which will take place in 2024. This marks a step closer for teams to win a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
