1st WMC Basketball 3x3 - Warendorf (GER) - Day 1
WARENDORF (GER) - For the first time in its history, 3x3 basketball, a discipline still young but already Olympic, is included in the CISM Sports Program. And it is the city of Warendorf and the German Delegation to CISM that will organize this first edition of the World Military Basketball Championship.
But what is this discipline?
3x3 basketball is a fast-paced, more dynamic version of classic basketball, played outdoors and with music. The main differences are that only one basket is played, the number of people on the court is limited to three per team and the time limit for shooting is only twelve seconds. 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 higher score at the end of the 10 minutes. In case of a tie, the team that scores two points first wins.
28 men's and women's teams from 17 nations will participate in the tournament, an official FIBA event, which will be held at the Bundeswehr Sports School in Warendorf. The participants come from all over the world: from France to Tanzania, Mongolia and Canada, almost all continents are represented.
After the preliminary and technical meeting as well as the referees' meeting which took place in the morning of July 4, the Opening Ceremony also took place yesterday and was followed by a reception of the Mayor of Warendorf.
The Opening Ceremony of the event was attended by Major General Abdullahi Maikano, VP Africa and Official CISM Representative for the event, Brigadier General Dieter Meyerhoff, Commander of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Command, Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Luetzkendorf, Chief of the German Delegation to CISM, Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Bellairs, PCSC Basketball, Chiefs of Missions of the participating nations as well as high local and international authorities.
Major-General Abdullahi Maikano took the floor to welcome the participants: "It is a pleasure to be here in Warendorf and to be so warmly welcomed by the organizers of this 1st WMC Basketball 3x3. It is evident that a great deal of work has gone into the preparations for the competition and the cultural and social events. I thank the German Chief of Delegation for his efforts and those of his personnel! I would also like to congratulate the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, and other members of the Central Organizing Committee of the German Armed Forces, and their team, for the work perfectly well done. I know it will be an excellent week. Good luck to all competitors; you truly reflect the CISM motto: "FRIENDSHIP THROUGH SPORT".
The first competitions will start today with the preliminary rounds and the blue and yellow balls will be flying on the sports school field. The preliminary rounds will take place on the Maincourt and three other annex courts, before the classification matches begin on Thursday. The grand finale will take place on Saturday, where the top eight male and female teams will compete for gold, silver and bronze.
- Find all the team compositions on the FIBA 3x3 Webpage !
- Find the schedule of events and results of the 1st WMC Basketball 3x3 here !
- More information also on the official website of the Organizing Committee !
(Source: CISM Media & Communication Department / Pictures: German Delegation to CISM)
