Qatar Basketball

QBF to take 3x3 All Stars to new level

The Qatar Basketball Federation, headed by Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al Thani, is mounting hectic preparations for the second edition of the FIBA 3x3 All Stars Contest, which is scheduled at the Katara Beach on December 12.

During a press conference, held in Doha on Tuesday, QBF Secretary General Mohamed Ali Hobash al Marri informed that the federation, boosted by last year’s massive success in the inaugural event, was stepping up its efforts to make it a bigger and better show than the 2013 contest.

World top-ranked player Dushan Domovic Bulut, QBF Executive Director Saadoun al Kuwari, Katara Operations General Manager Ahmed al Sayed, FIBA 3x3 Event Manager Ignacio Soriano and Connor Sport Court International Vice-President Andrew Gettig also attended the media gathering.

“We are ready to welcome and host all the players and officials for the second edition of the FIBA 3x3 All Stars on December 12 at the impressive Katara Beach. We’re trying our best to raise the level of the event and wish to treat sports fans with another thrilling contest,” said Marri.

“We’ve increased the prize money to attract the best 3x3 players in the world. Along with the contest, there will be some side events to make it a unique and memorable event. We’re confident that the second contest would present a higher level of competition, which reflects the growth achieved in the sport over a year,” he added.

QBF Executive Director Saadoun al Kuwari said on the occasion, “We’ll take six players to the visit of six schools and hospital to create more awareness about the sports and its benefits. Last year, the players also went to meet children with special needs and that trip was certainly very inspiring for them. The players will visit them again.”

“All the players will be staying in Ritaj Hotel and the officials will stay in St Regis. Qatar Airways has again offered to bring the teams and officials.

Katara Operations General Manager Ahmed al Sayed thanked the FIBA and QBF for bringing the event to Katara. He said, “We’re proud to have partnership with the QBF for this and their other events. It was a grand success in the 2013 and we hope we will have bigger crowd and more exciting matches in the upcoming edition.

“Helping such mass sports activities is a part of the Katara’s social responsibility and we’re very delighted to be a part of it,” he added.

Bulut, who did not have a good season in the 2013 as his team had lost the World 3x3 tour finale and then the Qatar event final to Slovenia’s Brezovica, said he was happy to be back and looking forward to the second edition at Katara.

Qatar pulled off a big upset as they beat Serbia, which included Bulut in the team, to win the FIBA World 3x3 Championship in Moscow earlier this year.

His team, Novi Sad, is fresh from the victory in the World 3x3 Tour finals in Japan and he would be keen to play Qatar in the group match.

“The level of the 3x3 basketball is increasingly getting higher, compared to the standards in 2011 when I started. No match is easy now. Novi Sad and Qatar are in the same group and it would be interesting to play them again. Yaseen (Ismail Musa, the captain of the Qatar team) took the gold medal away from me.

The Youth Olympic team should also be good,” added the Serbian star.

“Last time when we played in Qatar, we shot a video film and I showed it everywhere. Most of the people were amazed to see this beautiful place. We had gone to the schools and many of those students came to watch our match and support us with their painted faces. Those were really very memorable moments for us,” he recalled.

“We’re keen to come back and play the matches in December. We have one change in the team. Nikola (Ugrica) has been replaced by (Dejan) Majstorovic. That is however not a minor change. We are a lot stronger now as he is one of the best in the world. With his big size and ability to shoot from outside, we have been able to hold the game together the way we want.

“He is well settled in the team as we have been together since the start of the season. We called him to play in a presentation for the World Cup and then he kept playing for us. Now I feel we have got the team for the future years,” added Bulut.

Talking about the upcoming contest, Bulut said, “This event is going to be a lot tougher than the last year. All the teams look quite strong. There is no favourite and all the teams have ability to beat one another. This is a one-day tournament and winning four games in a day for the title is going to be a big task.

“The Youth Olympics team should also be good. We have not seen them so I don’t know what to expect from them. We’re preparing well for this event and we’re really looking forward to it,” added Bulut.

Andrew Gettig, the International Vice-President of Connor Sport Court, which will provide surface for the Katara event, praised the location of the event and added Qatar, as a host, was facing a big challenge after the FIBA 3x3 World Tour finished in Japan on a rousing note last month.

Novi Sad won the title against Canada’s Saskatoon in Sendai in front of a huge crowd and the event was the best Gettig has witnessed.

“Qatar has a big challenge now after the grand success of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour finals in Sendai. Now it is chance for Qatar to respond to it and I’m looking for what would Qatar do to get better. There are six best teams in the world and the cash prize is also big enough to attract the biggest 3x3 players in the world. It is providing the best possible equipment.

“I had spent a day at the Aspire centre. I was amazed by the facilities there. Nobody can question the commitment of the Qatari government. It has got the best equipment. It has got the best event. It has got the best teams and now the Qatar sports fans have an opportunity to make this event even better than the world tour finals by turning up there and supporting the teams,” he added.