12 teams will take part in the International Basketball Federation tournament in October ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Masters World 3x3 Basketball, in cooperation with the International Basketball Federation, is set to take place in a custom-built arena at the UAE capital’s Marina Mall on Oct. 29-30. The 3x3 world championships, part of the world tour, returns to the capital city for the first time in five years, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council announced. This year’s championship brings together the world’s elite 3x3-basketball players as well as some of the stars that took part in the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Abu Dhabi Masters will also welcome overseas spectators after the capital opened its borders to travelers who have had the COVID-19 vaccine. The 3x3 format, which made its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, has seen a noticeable increase in popularity in recent years thanks to the simplicity of its rules and its fast pace. “We are pleased to host the FIBA 3x3 Worlds once again in Abu Dhabi in cooperation with the International Basketball Federation,” said Aref Hamad Al-Awani, general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. “The popularity of tri-basketball has increased after its first appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, and we are confident of the success that the tournament will achieve, especially in conjunction with the prosperity that the capital is experiencing with its agenda full of prestigious international sporting events for this season.” The event will include 12 international teams, including four sides that are in the top five spots in the FIBA world tour. Liman from Serbia, currently the No.1 ranked team on the world tour, will be looking to consolidate their position while the Latvian side Riga, the gold medallists in Tokyo, the Belgian team Antwerp and Dutch side Utrecht, ranked third and fourth respectively, will be challenging for the lead. Ahead of the tournament, the ADSC will hold the Abu Dhabi Community Tri-Basketball Championship, with 24 teams in the fray from Oct. 8-15. The winner of this qualifier will represent Abu Dhabi on Oct. 29-30. However, it will be the top-12 ranked teams in the world tour who will travel to the Jeddah final in December. This will be the first time the competition has been held in Abu Dhabi since two consecutive rounds were in 2015 and 2016. Alex Sanchez, FIBA tri-basketball director, said: “The two world tri-basketball tournaments that were held in Abu Dhabi in 2015 and 2016 are still some of the most successful editions of the tournament ever, and this is exactly what prompted us to collaborate with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council once again to organize the world championship to take place in its second home.” The Abu Dhabi 3x3 Worlds has a prize fund of $150,000 on offer. The winners will receive 40,000 while the second and third placed teams take away $30,000 and $20,000 respectively.