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Israel to Host FIBA’s 3-on-3 Basketball Under 18 World Championships in 2015
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by Joshua Levitt
Team Israel at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, where Israel finished in sixth place. Pictured, from left to right, Sergey Zelikman, Tom Maayan, Igor Mayor and Oleksander Chernuvych. Photo: FIBA.
Israel will host the 2015 FIBA 3-on-3 under-18 World Championship basketball tournament, the federation for the sport said on Monday. The tournament will take place in May or June, with the exact date and city to be announced at a later date.
The Basketball Association of Israel (IBBA) is one of the most active national federations in the development of 3-on-3 basketball, and the 2015 competition will be the fourth annual tournament, FIBA said.
The games were previously held in Rimini, Italy (2011), Alcobendas, Spain (2012) and Jakarta, Indonesia (2013). In 2014, instead of the usual tournament, the games will take place as part of this summer’s Youth Olympic Games, in Nanjing, China, from August 16 to 28.
The World Championships will feature 48 teams, split between men and women, from more than 35 countries in the four-day event in Israel.
IBBA President Dani Haloutz said, “We take great pride in hosting an international event like the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Championships and being associated with a rising discipline like 3×3. No other international event mixes youth, sport, music and urban culture like this one. We support FIBA’s initiative to steer 3×3 and bring it to the Olympics.”
“This discipline already has a strong fan base here, with players and spectators attending in numbers tournaments all over the country,” Haloutz said. “We expect this event to have a positive impact on the development of 3×3 and basketball in general in Israel and take it as a great opportunity to welcome young athletes from all over the world and show them a little bit about our beautiful country.”
Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member, said, “We are delighted to organize the 2015 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Championships in Israel, giving the country its first major FIBA event.”
“Israel’s success in traditional basketball is well-documented but what is less known is Israel was at the vanguard in 3×3, participating in the discipline’s first-ever international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, finishing sixth in the men’s category,” Baumann said. “After a resounding success the last three years in Italy, Spain and Indonesia, we know our top 3×3 youth competition will be in safe hands in Israel in 2015.”
