Registrations open for 3x3 National Basketball Tour

The 3x3 Quest Tour will feature seven stops in 2019 with the first tipping-off in Auckland on 20 January.

The 2019 season will be the sixth tour in a row and continues to foster 3x3 talent with a view to building the 3x3 version of the game in New Zealand. Basketball New Zealand 3x3 Manager, David Huxford, says this a street version of basketball that players around the world love.

"While there is a global professional tour and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has recognised it as an Olympic sport, the true strength of 3x3 lies at the grassroots level. People love it because its informal, you just need one hoop, its fast, quick and fun. We live in a busy world and people like pickup games, so 3x3 is perfect for that."

Anyone is invited to come along and watch the action. And organisers work hard to give anyone a run by putting teams into suitable grades.

"We do have different grades available, mens and womens, boys and girls grades. We find that the open mens grade is very competitive and hard fought. But ultimately its just a really friendly and fun atmosphere with great music and hoops in the sun - fingers crossed for good weather, but we have indoor back-up options if we need them on the day," says Huxford.

Mai FM will be sponsoring the event and playing music at each venue. Also Sals Authentic New York Pizza has come on board this year to help too. Prizes will include a $50 Sals Pizza voucher to the winner of the Slam Duck competition.

The Tour once again has FIBAs official Quest status, which means that the winner of the Open Mens grade at each event will compete at the World Tour Qualifier Final, where there is a big prize on the line.

"Whoever wins the last open mens event will win an all-expenses paid trip to compete at the World Tour Masters. Its an amazing prize and the players who have travelled to this during previous years have absolutely loved it. They find themselves playing in a globally-elite 3x3 environment, facing up against the pros. Theyll be competing against some of the worlds best talent - its not easy with such tough competition, but the experience is incredible," says Huxford.

The 3x3 Quest Tour runs from 20 January through to 9 March. The event is open to under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open age-groups in both mens and womens categories. Huxford says teams need to register early if they dont want to miss out.

"Given last seasons demand, we are encouraging players to enter their teams now and ensure they are registered on
play.fiba3x3.com."

On
play.fiba3x3.com, players 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, 2019:

- Sun 20 Jan Auckland-West The Trusts Arena, Henderson, Auckland

- Sat 2 Feb Tauranga Harbourside Netball Centre, Blake Park, Mt Maunganui

- Sat 9 Feb Wellington Odlins Plaza, Wellington Waterfront

- Sun 17 Feb Dunedin The Octagon, Dunedin

- Sat 23 Feb Christchurch Hagley Park Netball Courts

- Sat 2 Mar Auckland- North Eventfinda Stadium (formerly NSEC), North Shore

- Sun 9 Mar Auckland- QUEST FINAL- Auckland City YMCA, Pitt Street

- This final event is the World Tour Qualifier Final and is only open to the Open Men's Grade teams that qualified at one of the above regional events. No other grades will play at this event.

More info:

- More details on the tour at
www.nz.basketball/3x3

- Sign up for the tour via
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