3x3 Quest Tour resumes in Mangere this Saturday

The 3x3 Quest Tour basketball will resume this coming Saturday by tipping off in Mangere, South Auckland.

With the first two events in the books, the Tour will set up at the Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre in David Lange Park for the third stop. Again, organisers expect another showcase of some of the countrys top 3x3 talent, which was the case during the first two events with New Zealand 3x3 representatives and National Basketball League players taking part.

Aik Ho from Auckland basketball association ABSL, says members of his association enjoy the variation that 3x3 basketball brings and firmly believes the new format can help develop the traditional game.

"Its really physical which is great and you get a lot more touches which helps players develop their game."

One of the big incentives for players in the Open Mens category is the opportunity to play at a FIBA World Tour Masters event in Japan. The winning teams from each Tour event will come together in Auckland on March 10th to contest the World Tour Qualifier final. Ho credits this opportunity as a drawcard for some already well-established players.

"Now that its a fully funded trip, players have a big incentive to get involved. Its also a good way for players to get exposure, and the inclusion of the format in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics definitely helps."

Basketball New Zealands 3x3 Manager, David Huxford has been travelling with the Tour since its inception in 2014 and says he's impressed at how new and exciting talent emerges each year.

"The standard of 3x3 basketball continues to lift. Each week were seeing new faces and teams creating a highly competitive and tough competition. With the increased profile of 3x3 and the opportunities within the competition, were seeing more and more basketballers gravitate to 3x3," says Huxford.

The first two events of the 3x3 Quest Tour saw two different winners take out each event. Team Precision Movement took out the first event in Tauranga only for new powerhouse 'The Den' to claim the second event in Takapuna, North Auckland. Neither team had an easy road to victory. This weekend, picking a winner will not be an easy task as regular stalwarts battle it out with new talent for the third event title of the Tour.

Bring on Mangere!

Go to http://nz.basketball/3x3-Quest-Tour for more information.

Players must register on play.fiba3x3.com, where they can enter events, track their results and compare their ranking to their friends and other 3x3 players internationally. Its essential that all players have an official play.fiba3x3.com profile when they play in the Tour. Creating a profile is easy and only takes about three minutes. Once youve created a play.fiba3x3.com account, respond to the confirmation email, register for an event, and youre ready to play.

3X3 Quest Tour Schedule:

Date | Region | Venue

- Sat 9 Dec 2017 | Tauranga | Mount Maunganui Netball centre

- Sat 16 Dec 2017 | Auckland - Takapuna | North Shore Events Centre

- Sat 20 Jan 2018 | Auckland - Mangere | Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre

- Sun 28 Jan 2018 | Hamilton | Garden Place and Civic Square

- Sat 10 Feb 2018 | Wellington | Odlins Plaza

- Sat 17 Feb 2018 | Invercargill | Stadium Southland

- Sun 18 Feb 2018 | Dunedin | The Octagon

- Sat 24 Feb 2018 | Christchurch | Hagley Park Netball Courts

- Sat 3 Mar 2018 | Auckland - Henderson | Trusts Arena

- Sat 10 Mar 2018 | Auckland - CBD | The Cloud-

- This event will be both a normal 3x3 Quest Tour event, except for the Open Men's grade - only Open Mens grade teams that have qualified through previous tour events can play in the World Tour Qualifier Final at The Cloud on 10 March.

More information:

- www.basketball.org.nz/3X3

- play.fiba3x3.com

- Follow the event on Basketball New Zealands Social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand