Three-on-three basketball is often a footnote in Cayman basketball though it is now set to take centre stage.
Governor’s Square on West Bay Road is slated to host a three-on-three hoops tournament this Saturday, 5 November. Being put on by the Cayman Islands Basketball Association, the event is expected to take place in the parking lot from 9am.
Director of Sports Collin Anglin, one of the organizers, states the competition is coming out of global appeal.
“Local basketball as a whole wants to get more into three-on-three,” Anglin said. “It has caught the eye of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball (the governing body for basketball) and they want to make it an Olympic sport in 2016. FIBA states that three-on-three has the highest percentage of participation as games are fast and players don’t have to be incredibly in shape.”
Indeed FIBA have stated that they are pushing for three-a-side basketball to rise the ranks after its success at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann voiced his support for the idea last summer.
“It would never replace the basic basketball, it is different,” Baumann said. “It is a tournament on its own. It is not a side tournament or an auxiliary event. It is a whole discipline on its own.”
Saturday’s tournament is being split up into four categories: adult men, adult women, over 40 males and over 30 females. There are also slated to be three-point and free-throw shooting competitions. Prize money will be offered in each segment with first place nabbing $400 and second taking home $200.
According to Technical director for Cayman basketball Victor ‘Voot’ O’Garro, the Governor’s Square event will be the first such competition Cayman has seen since the last one at Wendy’s restaurant years ago.
Anglin states the public should come out to see the matches and support local basketball.
“I would encourage as many people as possible to come out and play. Three-on-three is about fun and good competition and can appeal to a wider audience. Where some people might not like the traditional five-on-five, the three-on-three will seem more attractive. At the end of the day it’s a fundraiser for the various basketball programmes.”
Among the sponsors for the tournament are the Ministry of Sports, Cost-U-Less, Strategic Risk Solutions, Popeyes, X107.1FM, HOT 104.1FM and CayRock 96.5FM.
Registration fee is $30 per player and there is a maximum of four people per team. For more information e-mail [email protected]
Related Videos
