- 3BL 2022 Men’s Gurugram Masters champions earn a seat to compete in the FIBA 3X3 World Tour in Manila in May 2022, while Runner’s Up Ahmedabad Wingers earn a seat in the Asian Basketball League 3X3 in Bali in April 2022
- 3BL 2022 Women’s Champion Delhi Divas Earn a Place in the Asian Basketball League 3X3 in Bali in April 2022
- The Indian men’s 3×3 ranking is now in the top 20 in the world, with an extraordinary jump of 70e up to 16e in just three weeks, thanks to participating in 3BL Season 3 which was hosted between 8e up to 21st March 2022 in Chandigarh
- This is the highest ranking for any Indian basketball team in history be it 3×3 or 5×5, men or women, junior age groups or senior level
- INR 75 lakh total prize money awarded in 3BL Season 3, with additional opportunity to participate in prestigious FIBA 3×3 ‘World Tour’ and ‘Challenger’ events and Asian Continental Tournament
- Prior to the start of Season 3, 3BL received exclusive recognition from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA), making it India’s only authorized professional basketball league.
New Delhi: Indian men’s 3×3 basketball rankings have a spectacular jump of 70 . showe up to 16e, thanks to the recently concluded third season of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) supported 3×3 Pro Basketball League (3BL). 3BL Season 3 was held at Hotel Wyndham Chandigarh Mohali from 8e up to 21st March 2022 and saw the participation of leading national and international men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball players.
Indian top stars of men’s and women’s teams from across the country including Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Arjuna Awardee and National Men’s Team Captain), Anitha Pauldurai (Padma Shri), Geethu Anna Rahul (Arjuna Awardee), Raspreet Sidhu, Amritpal Singh, Palpreet Singh ( ex-NBA player), Princepal Singh (ex-NBA player), and Stephy Nixon, to name a few, have been seen in action across 18 franchises (12 men’s and 6 women’s).
A post-season press conference was held earlier today at the Taj Mahal hotel, led by 3BL Commissioner, Mr. Rohit Bakshi and Ms. Prerna Sharma, Director of YKBK Enterprise Pvt Ltd., which owns the intellectual property of ‘3BL’. Also in attendance were the two 3BL Season 3 championship teams Gurugram Masters (men) and Delhi Divas (women), among other foreign players. Mr. Vikas Bansal and Mr. Rajeev Tiwari, the owners of the Gurugram Masters franchise, the reigning champion in the men’s competition, were also in attendance.
Indian men’s 3×3 team ranked No. 2 in Asia
“Prior to the start of 3BL Season 3, we had promised that the global FIBA 3×3 federation ranking of the Indian men’s team would be around 30.e† We are pleased to confirm that Indian men have now ranked 16e in the world, for Asian powerhouses such as China, Iran and the Philippines and even Australia, which competes in the Asian circuit,” said Ms Prerna Sharma.
“I would like to congratulate the Indian men’s basketball players because as well as being in the top 20 in the world, our 3×3 men’s ranking is also the second best in all of Asia, behind Mongolia,” said Mr Rohit Bakshi. “We need to maintain and improve the FIBA 3×3 Men’s and Women’s World Rankings to be below 4th in the World Rankings by October 31, 2023 to ensure that both our men’s and women’s teams qualify for the Olympics of 2024 in Paris.”
Indian Basketball’s Olympic dreams in Paris are getting closer to reality
According to the qualifying criteria at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, only 8 teams per gender will compete in the 3×3 event at the Olympics. The top four ranked teams (according to the FIBA 3×3 Federations’ Ranking) will receive direct entry, while the next 16 ranked teams will play in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
In other words, according to today’s FIBA 3×3 Men’s Ranking, the Indian team would qualify to participate in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament as it is the #16 ranked team in the world.
Top 3BL Men’s teams rewarded with cash prizes and further international participation
In the men’s race, Gurugram Masters were crowned champions, Ahmedabad Wingers finished second and Mumbai Heroes took third.
The winning men’s team was awarded INR 35 lakh, the runners-up won INR 25 lakh and the third-placed team was awarded INR 15 lakh.
“We are delighted that our Gurugram Masters team can repeat themselves as champions,” said Mr. Rajeev Tiwari, co-owner of the Gurugram Masters franchise.
“The competition is getting stronger. We will continue to dominate the competition and win the World Tour Final 2022 to be the best team in the world,” said Mr. Vikas Bansal, co-owner of Gurugram Masters.
In addition, 3BL’s Season 3 Gurugram Masters championship team will compete in the prestigious FIBA 3×3 ‘World Tour’ event in the Philippines and a FIBA 3×3 ‘Challenger’ event in Mongolia. Meanwhile, the runner-up Ahmedabad Wingers will compete in the first-ever ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) 3×3 Cup in Bali, Indonesia.
The ABL 3×3 Cup will be held from April 16-17 and the FIBA 3×3 World Tour event in the Philippines will be held in Manila from May 28-29. The dates of the ‘Challenger’ event in Mongolia have not yet been decided, but the venue has been confirmed as the capital of Ulaanbaatar.
3BL Women’s League Champion team participate in Asian 3×3 Cup
Former India captain Raspreet Sidhu led Delhi Divas to be crowned champions of the second season of the Women’s League, which was held alongside the third season of the Men’s League.
“Delhi Divas will join the Ahmedabad Men’s Wingers at the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) 3×3 Cup in Indonesia. I am proud to be the owner of Delhi Divas and we will support our team to win the championship title in ABL as we did in 3BL Season 3,” said Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh, owner of Delhi Divas and Delhi Hoopers.
Six new 3BL women’s teams are introduced
“Come on 3BL Season 4, we will double the number of women’s teams from six to twelve. This will increase the number of Indian women registered on the FIBA 3×3 portal and also increase the ranking of the Indian women, to align it with men,” said Ms Prerna Sharma, director of 3BL.
“I would like to thank all sponsors and partners involved in 3BL Season 3, starting with Hotel Wyndham Chandigarh Mohali – for their incredible hospitality, Nivia – for the eye-catching jerseys, Boxo Singh Sports Worldwide Pvt Ltd. – our name partner, Fortis Hospital Mohali – for their medical assistance including performing surgery on an injured foreign player, Red Bull – our Energy Drink partner to keep our players well hydrated, Sony LIV – our livestream partner and 94.3 MY FM – our radio partner. Without their support, organizing a League on this scale simply would not have been possible,” said Ms Prerna Sharma.
“I would like to thank all media in attendance for your extensive coverage of 3BL – India’s first and only 3×3 Pro Basketball League. We hope you will continue to support us in our greater mission to help BFI achieve its goal of qualifying Indian basketball teams for the 2024 Olympics in Paris,” said Mr. Rohit Bakshi.
Also read | Is it the right decision to ban Russian tennis players from Wimbledon?
