During the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Lausanne Masters this past weekend, FIBA officially announced the first-ever FIBA 3×3 All-Stars to be held in Doha, Qatar on 12 December, providing an additional exclamation mark to end the 3×3 season in style in 2013. The agreement between FIBA and the Qatar Basketball Federation is for three years.
FIBA Secretary General and IOC Member Patrick Baumann shared his enthusiasm: “The first-ever FIBA 3×3 All-Stars is a further step in the development of 3×3 and the most astute use of our unique 3×3 Individual World Ranking. It is the ultimate proof that the discipline keeps expanding.”
QBF President and Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General H.E. Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said: “The first-ever FIBA 3×3 All-Stars will bring to Qatar all the best 3×3 players in the world. In a long term partnership with FIBA, QBF is proud to contribute to 3×3 international recognition and development.”
The FIBA 3×3 All-Stars will see six teams from around the world meet for one day. It will consist of the winner of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Final in Istanbul on 4-5 October 2013, the highest ranked player in Americas, in Europe, in the rest of the world and in the host country, all four of them playing with their respective usual team. The field will be completed with a legends team.
The 3×3 Individual World Ranking is a revolutionary tool where team-sport players are ranked individually. It currently lists more than 42,000 3×3 players based on the amount of points they have won at FIBA-endorsed events.
The prize money and appearance fee will reach a grand total of 120,000 USD.
