Defending champions the ones to beat in Xiamen

 World’s best student ballers converge in China 

XIAMEN – It is the only global tournament that brings the world’s best 3×3 university teams together on one court and it gets underway on Thursday, 15 November. After months of intense competition and continental qualifiers that ran through the year, the top 3×3 Basketball teams from around the world have come together in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China, for the fourth edition of the FISU 3×3 World University League Finals.

Among the 16 teams in the men’s and women’s fields, 10 have come through qualifying tournaments held in Oceania, Asia, Americas, Africa and Europe, while the two host teams – Huaqiao University and Peking University – gained automatic qualification.

Vytautas Magnus University 3×3 teamThere are also 4 teams each in the men’s and women’s competition that have received wildcard entries. This includes the 2016 men’s champions McGill University of Canada. They go up against Lithuanian heavyweights Vytautus Magnus University on the very first day and that’s certainly one of the matches to watch out for. (Scroll down for a snapshot of the schedule, while the full tournament schedule can be found .)

Lukas Grabauskas, captain of the Vytautus Magnus University team says, “I think it will be a really serious tournament, like a World Cup. We have been waiting for this tournament, because it is a good challenge for us. We are sure all the teams will be very strong, and it will require maximum concentration on our part.”

Team Mongolia (photo courtesy FIBA3x3)While his team and McGill are both strong contenders, the teams to beat are the men’s and women’s defending champions: Mon-Altius Physical Education Institute of Mongolia and Chinese Culture University of Taipei, respectively. The Mon Altius Physical Education Institute of Mongolia ruled in Xiamen last year and there’s no reason to believe the defending champions won’t do it again.

This year it’s a different squad to the one that played in 2017, but all four of the current team members (right) were also part of the Mongolian national team at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires earlier this year. So, a young team, but certainly one to keep an eye on.

3×3 team of Chinese Culture University, Chinese Taipei, The women’s champions from last year, Chinese Culture University from Chinese Taipei, arrived in Xiamen feeling confident yet again. “We actually killed it last year,” they laughed as they went through arrival and registration procedures. “But we will keep a sense of normalcy and modesty.”

The schedule on all four days is nonstop, with up to 24 matches in a day, courtside entertainment, Huaqiao University’s cheerleading squad and emcees who will keep the crowd on their feet.

The teams have been divided into 4 Pools of 4 teams each and will play each other in round robin format through Days 1 and 2. Day 3 will witness the last 16 in action, as well as a shootout contest for women and a slam-dunk contest for men, in between matches.

The 4^th and final day on 18 November is a bonanza for basketball fans, with quarterfinals, semifinals and finals all taking place one after the other.

The fast-paced format of 3×3 Basketball is tailor-made for university students and the World University League Finals are now among the prime events on FISU’s sports programme. 3×3 Basketball is also now an Olympic sport and will make its debut at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

For the moment though, all eyes are on Xiamen as the best 128 university ballers on the planet get into action mode. The unmissable action will be live streamed on all four days,  on the FISU Facebook page.