Basketball: 3x3 rolls into the city as Australia, China score at Fiba Asia Cup

SINGAPORE - Basketball fans here have been starved of a major event in the last three years owing to Covid-19 and there was much to celebrate this week as live action returned to the heart of the city in the form of the Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup.

A record 53 men's and women's teams from 30 countries competed in the tournament, which was held annually from 2017 until the pandemic struck. Sell-out crowds have turned out for the July 6-10 competition from Friday (July 8), when the main draw began.

Six hundred fans, not including curious passers-by who caught the action along the event's barricades, were in attendance on the final day of the event on Sunday, when Australia was crowned men's champions for the third time in a row after beating New Zealand 21-17.

But the Aussie women - champions in 2017 and 2019 - failed to retain their title as they lost 14-10 to first-time winners China.

Australia's Jesse Wagstaff, who was named the Asia Cup's most valuable player, said: "It's my first Asia Cup, but a few of the boys have been here before.

"It's my second time in Singapore, it's a beautiful city, phenomenal location and we've just really enjoyed the last four days."

Although Australia had already beaten their trans-Tasman rivals earlier in the tournament, Wagstaff and his teammates did not let their guard down in their second encounter.

Wagstaff gave credit to New Zealand, saying: "It's tough playing a team twice. Obviously we learnt from the first time - they are a physical team who are skilled so we knew it wasn't going to be easy the second time."

China captain Zhang Zhiting was grateful for the support from their fans, saying that it spurred them on in the final against Australia.

She said: "It took us a while to warm up, we were a bit slow initially but we managed to carry out our coach's plan and were able to win the competition.

"This win is special for us because both of us (China and Australia) came in with new teams and it was about who could play better. We managed to achieve what we set out to do."

Fiba secretary-general Andreas Zagklis credited the organisers for a successful event, saying: "I had the chance to speak to a number of delegations and they are happy to be here, they feel part of a big event, they feel how Singaporean hospitality is combined with the excellence of a Fiba 3x3 event and this is what we want - this event as a reference, as an ultimate goal for them to achieve.

"I'm also really happy with the location and set-up - it was particularly satisfying large queues of people trying to get a glimpse into the spectacle inside the venue. It is a fascinating opportunity for both us and Singapore."

The Asia Cup 2022 is the second time Singapore has hosted an official Fiba 3x3 basketball competition. The last major basketball event here was the Asean Basketball League, which has been suspended since March 2020 owing to the pandemic.

Marcus Tan, Sport Singapore's sport development group chief and Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup 2022 organising committee chairman, said: "Organising international events like this is an opportunity for us to show the world the best qualities of Singapore that we can be proud of.

"It has also been wonderful to just watch the players on court. The standards of the competition are very high and we had many good takeaways, more importantly, we also enjoyed working with our local and international partners, to bring to the world a truly unforgettable basketball event."