Fiba 3x3 Hong Kong Masters: last chance for Paris, Hangzhou and Princeton to grab place in Jeddah finals

US$130,000 in prize money on the line at Victoria Park as well as a place in the season-ending finals in Saudi Arabia
Officials hope for boost in attendance after last year’s debut in the city was half-empty and hit by no-shows

FIBA (International Basketball Federation)

Mike Chan

Published: 6:30pm, 24 Nov 2023

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Local basketball chiefs are hoping for intense competition for places in next month’s global finals – and bigger crowds than last year – when the Fiba 3x3 Hong Kong Masters tips off on Saturday.

The city is the final stop on the calendar before the season-ending finals in Saudi Arabia, with plenty to play for at Victoria Park as teams vie for berths as well as US$130,000 (HK$1.017 million) in total prize money this weekend that includes US$40,000 for the winners.

An event official said details about ticket sales “will not be disclosed” but predicted a 40 per cent increase in attendance as the World Tour returns to Hong Kong after making its debut last November.

“It will probably reach 80 per cent for the whole event,” he said.

Up to 1,000 seats are available for each of the three sessions in the two-day event. Last year, 882 of the 1,547 available tickets, or 57 per cent, were sold over the course of two days, and there were plenty of no-shows on the rain-hit first day.

On the court, teams are battling to be the one remaining team who will qualify as of right as one of the 14 finalists in Jeddah on December 8 and 9. The 12 leading sides from the tour will be joined by a home representative and a wild-card team.

Paris, Hangzhou and Princeton will be looking to overhaul San Juan, whose fate is in the hands of the other three contenders.

Currently occupying the 12th finals spot, San Juan are not playing in the Hong Kong leg. Paris, who sit in 15th place, can overtake them if they reach the semi-finals this weekend.

There are outside chances for Hangzhou and Princeton, too. Ranked 16th on the tour, Hangzhou need to finish at least third in Hong Kong and better the result of Paris to make it, while Princeton, who are in 17th, must triumph this weekend to steal the last place in Jeddah from under the other teams’ noses.

The fate of either Hangzhou or Princeton will be determined early on, with both of them having found themselves in group A alongside tour leaders Ub Huishan NE, from Serbia. Two teams from each of the four pools will progress to the quarter-finals.

The Serbian side have a tour-leading 46 victories this season – a 79 per cent win rate – after triumphing in the first six of the 17 regular-season World Tour events, from the opener in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya to the sixth leg in Prague.

Paris have been drawn in group B with fourth-placed side Antwerp and a qualifier.

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Representing the host city are Wu Kai Sha, who avoided having to make a last-ditch roster change after guard Hyman Hui Huen-hang was cleared to play despite a neck injury sustained in training.

Winners of the Hong Kong Quest last month, Wu Kai Sha will first take on Jeddah and Montenegro side Podgorica Kodio in one of two preliminary groups. The winners of each of those will join the pool stage.

Tickets ranging from day passes at HK$100 to the most expensive Sunday pass at HK$680, which included a limited edition Octopus card, were available at HK Ticketing.

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