The national 3x3 basketball tour hits town again this weekend. Photo/File
The national 3x3 basketball tour hits town again this weekend. Photo/File
The 3x3 National Basketball Tour rolls into town this weekend with its brand of high-flying hijinks set to entertain on the city's waterfront.
The 10-stop summer tour, supported by Burger King and boasting tournaments from Auckland to Dunedin, offers local ballers the opportunity to mix it with top professionals withexperience on the international circuit.
Ranking points are up for grabs, while national age group and open selectors will be in attendance to gauge the talent available for what is rapidly becoming a burgeoning global game.
Melanie Bennett of Tauranga City Basketball, who began a new coaching role with Basketball New Zealand last week, said the tournament is an ideal way to begin the year.
"It's exciting because it's the first real tournament here for the year and we've had a few kids coming back from tour so they're still on a roll and want to be involved," Bennett said.
"It's a good way to start off our rep programme for the kids because we have trials on February 16."
Estimating the number of participants is difficult, as registration is open on the day of the event, though Bennett said word of mouth had begun to spread.
"We had basketball leagues last night and it sparked a lot of interest with the posters flying around.
"A few age group teams are going to be entering and some of the girls' teams want to compete in the boys' grade, so it's going to be interesting."
The QEII is the alternate venue should the forecast poor weather arrive.
The entry fee of $35 per team - increasing to $50 on the day - will go towards paying the way of players selected for the 3x3 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, and the 3x3 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
The action will include under-14, under-16, under-18 and open grades for men and women, though since the competition is based on FIBA rules, there will not be mixed grades.
Players supply their own uniforms, though bibs will be available.
The action in The Strand car park on Saturday tips off at 10am.
