The Tuckers Ice Cream 3×3 Basketball Championship received positive feedback as a total of 35 teams signed up for the one day tournament at Ed’s Court, Raiwaqa, Suva.

Basketball Fiji chief operations officer Laisiasa Puamau said the new initiative by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has peaked the interests of the youths.

“The promotion of the three-by-three format is different from the traditional competitions that we normally have,” Puamau said. “The players are definitely enjoying it because it is a shorter version of the game, it really suits our style of play because our players are very athletic, and this new format is obviously a big plus for the federation.

“We have close to 35 teams that have registered for different age groups and the youths really enjoyed it. “The response had been really positive and the crowd enjoying the game because it is fast paced and entertaining.” “We are definitely thinking about having this as an event during the school break or a yearly thing, so that is definitely in the pipeline.

“We would definitely love to run more events and we want to thank Tuckers for helping run the event.”

The tournament has not only served as a build for the players for the Tuckers Fiji Secondary School Championship but also a selection ground for the Gold Coast 3×3 Nationals in Australia.

“In the Open grade, we are looking to select the best four players to represent Fiji. The federation is basically looking into sending a national mens and womens team to Gold Coast 3×3 Nationals on September 11-14,” he said.

Source: Fiji Sun Newspaper

Sunday 23 August 2015