FIBA 3x3 World Championships

FIBA 3x3 World Championships

Current season, competition or edition: 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Championships
Sport	3x3 basketball
Founded	2012
No. of teams	24
Country	FIBA members
Continent	FIBA (International)
Most titles	Men's: Qatar (1 title), Serbia (1 title) Women's: USA (2 title) Mixed: France (1 title)

The FIBA 3x3 World Championships is the largest tournament for 3x3 Basketball. 3x3 Basketball is a new initiative by FIBA to help make basketball a more versatile sport. The debut FIBA 3x3 World Championship was held in August 2012 in Athens, Greece. The tournament will be played every two years. The inaugural and current champions are Serbia in the men's division, the USA in the women's division, and France in the mixed division.

In the FIBA 3x3 World Championships there are two events for men and women. Each team has 4 players (3 on court, 1 bench). In the first edition there was a mixed event where each team composed of 2 men and 2 women. The match is played on a half court and every rule applies as well as a 12-second shot clock and clearance needed on a new possession. 3x3 Basketball has been responded to well by the international basketball community and there has even been talk of the possibility of 3x3 Basketball being an Olympic Event.

Basic rules

FIBA releases from time-to-time a 3x3 supplement to its official basketball rules. The rules state that regular FIBA rules apply to all situations not specifically addressed in the FIBA 3x3 rules. The current set, both in an abbreviated version and longer format, has been published in early 2014 and a video has been posted on YouTube.

Under the 2014 rules, the departures from regular full-court basketball are as follows:

• Each team consists of three players and one substitute.
• The game is played on a half-court, with one basket.
• A size 6 basketball (circumference of 727–734 mm/28.5–29.0 in) is used for all divisions, including men's competitions. This is the standard size for women's basketball, and smaller than the size 7 standard (749–780 mm/29.5–30.7 in) used in the full-court men's game.
• A jump ball is not used to start the game. Instead, a coin toss is held immediately before the game. The winning team can choose to take possession of the ball at the start of the game, or take the first possession of a potential overtime period.
• There are no jump balls at any time in the game; neither is there an alternating possession rule. In any held ball situation, the defensive team is granted possession.
• Every successful shot inside the arc is awarded one point, while every successful shot behind the arc is awarded two points.
• The game is a single period of 10 minutes with sudden death at 21 points. The winner is the first team to score 21 or the team with the highest score at the end of the 10 minutes. A tie in regulation leads to an untimed overtime period, which is won by the first team to score two points in overtime. Note that if a game is tied at 20 at the end of regulation, reaching 21 does not end the games.
• Game play starts with the defensive team exchanging the ball with the offensive team behind the arc. This exchange is also used to restart the game from any dead ball situation. If a foul is committed that results in the non-fouling team retaining possession — i.e., a technical or "unsportsmanlike" foul (the latter essentially the same as the "flagrant foul" of North American rule sets) — the non-fouling team will receive the exchange.
• A 12-second shot clock is used.
• If the defense gains possession of the ball within the arc, by a steal, a block or a rebound, the team must move the ball behind the arc before being allowed to take a shot.
• After a made goal or free throw (except for technical or unsportsmanlike fouls and team fouls 10 or more), play restarts with a player from the non-scoring team taking the ball directly under the basket and then dribbling or passing it to a point behind the arc. The defense is not allowed to play for the ball inside the block/charge semi-circle under the basket.
• The only common feature between the substitution procedure in full-court and 3x3 is that it can occur only in a dead ball situation. In 3x3, a substitute can only enter from behind the end line opposite the basket, and the substitution becomes official once the player leaving the game has made physical contact with the substitute. Unlike the full-court game, no action from referees or table officials is required.
• Each team is allowed one timeout. (The officials may still stop the game in case of player injury or other dangerous situations, as in the standard FIBA rules.)
• Individual personal foul counts are not kept. In other words, players cannot be disqualified on the basis of personal fouls. However, a player who commits two unsportsmanlike fouls is disqualified.
• Fouls during the act of shooting inside the arc are awarded 1 free throw, whilst fouls during the act of shooting behind the arc are awarded 2 free throws. However, team fouls 7, 8 and 9 are awarded two free throws, whilst team fouls 10 or more are awarded two free throws and possession of the ball.
• Technical fouls (including unsportsmanlike fouls) result in two free throws plus possession of the ball, as in the standard full-court game.

Results

Men's Tournament

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Champion	Score	Second Place		Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
2012 Details	Athens		Serbia	16–13	France		Ukraine	19–18	Israel
2014 Details	Moscow		Qatar	18–13	Serbia		Russia	19–18	Lithuania
2016 Details	Guangzhou

Women's Tournament

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Champion	Score	Second Place		Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
2012 Details	Athens		United States	17–16	France		Australia	18–17	Ukraine
2014 Details	Moscow		United States	15–8	Russia		Belgium	14–12	Czech Republic
2016 Details	Guangzhou

Mixed Tournament

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Champion	Score	Second Place		Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
2012 Details	Athens		France	14–8	Argentina		Ukraine	15–8	Czech Republic

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	2	0	0	2
2	France	1	2	0	3
3	Serbia	1	1	0	2
4	Qatar	1	0	0	1
5	Russia	0	1	1	2
6	Argentina	0	1	0	1
7	Ukraine	0	0	2	2
8	Australia	0	0	1	1
8	Belgium	0	0	1	1

Participanting teams

Men's

Nation	2012	2014	2016
Andorra			Q
Argentina	12th	18th
Brazil	22nd	19th	Q
Bulgaria	16th
China		15th	Q
Croatia		5th
Czech Republic	15th	6th
Egypt	14th		Q
England	11th
Estonia	17th	10th
France	2nd
Germany		23rd
Greece	6th
Guam	23rd
Indonesia		24th	Q
Italy			Q
Japan		20th	Q
Israel	4th
Latvia	18th
Lebanon	21st
Lithuania		4th
Mexico	20th
Netherlands		21st	Q
Nepal	24th
New Zealand		12th	Q
Philippines			Q
Poland		7th	Q
Puerto Rico		16th
Qatar		1st	Q
Romania	10th	8th	Q
Russia	5th	3rd	Q
Serbia	1st	2nd	Q
Slovenia	9th	9th	Q
Tunisia		11th
Spain	13th		Q
Turkey	19th	17th	Q
Ukraine	3rd
Uruguay		13th	Q
United States	7th	14th	Q
Venezuela	8th	22nd

See also

• 3x3 (basketball)