Advertisement
FIBA
SportBasketball

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

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The Hong Kong Masters has a bigger capacity this year, with 1,000 seats. Photo: Handout
Mike Chan

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement
Advertisement