The exhibition match featuring Andrei Pavel, Anghel Damian, and Virgil Stănescu against the 2014 European champions marked a grand conclusion to the 2024 season of the BCR Sport Arena Streetball national 3×3 basketball circuit. The event took place over the weekend on the courts of Politehnica University Bucharest.
More than 570 teams and 2,500 players participated throughout this season’s six BCR Sport Arena Streetball tournaments, which featured 950 3×3 basketball games.
The final event coincided with the 10th anniversary of Romania’s 2014 European Championship win in 3×3 basketball. Angel Santana, Bogdan Popescu, and Cătălin Vlaicu, members of the 2014 Romanian national team, were celebrated on the courts where they trained for that achievement. The joy and fun were infectious, and the children in the crowd joined the players on the court towards the end of the exhibition match. The decisive basket was scored by Toma, the son of Horia Brenciu, who plays basketball at Fan Baschet Club.
Santana, Popescu, and Vlaicu, the 2014 gold medalists, were awarded a special edition Tissot “Săgeata Orientului” watch by Albini Prassa, a tribute watch created to celebrate the Franco-Romanian Air Navigation Company.
2024 Champions Crowned
The 19th season of BCR Sport Arena Streetball crowned champions across all 14 age categories, from the youngest basketball players in the under-10 category to veterans in the 35+ category. The biggest surprise came in the Women’s Open, where Sportul Studențesc narrowly defeated CS Vâlcea 1924, the team that had won four tournaments this season, with a score of 14-13.
The Ukrainian team Here for Beer triumphed in the Men’s Open, finishing the tournament undefeated and winning the final 21-15 against Agro Squad. Anisia Pușcașu and Vladyslav Frolov were named the best players in the elite categories, while David Bănică was awarded the Horizon Rising Star MVP for best young player. The total cash prize pool was €15,000, with the Open champions receiving a €1,000 check.
A Celebration of Outdoor Sports
The final Sport Arena Streetball event of 2024 provided three days of sports activities for the whole family. In the fan zone, basketball-themed contests were held, and attendees had the chance to try out pickleball, a new sport that has gone viral in the United States. From the basketball court, the action quickly shifted to the pickleball court, where Andrei Pavel exchanged a few rallies with Virgil Stănescu and Anghel Damian. Pickleball, frequently played by tennis legends like Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, is also regularly hosted by actor Jamie Foxx at his parties.
Journalist Emil Hossu-Longin presented his book Air Majesty – Michael Jordan, marking 40 years since the legendary American athlete signed his first contract with Nike. Everyone who purchased the book over the weekend at Sport Arena Streetball was entered into a raffle for a pair of Air Jordan sneakers.
Basketball was played not only in real life but also virtually, with intense battles in the gaming zone on Nintendo consoles playing NBA2K. The winners of the virtual basketball competitions were awarded NBA2K25 licenses, offered by CD Media.
There were also slam-dunk contests, with Kyril Panfilov winning for the third time this season, and a mini-dunk contest for the youngest players, who enjoyed the most spectacular move in basketball.
BCR Sport Arena Streetball 2024 was supported by BCR, Mastercard, Nike, BCR Leasing, Horizon, BCR Life Insurance VIG, Subaru through SMT Pallady, Omniasig, Tissot, Albini Prassa, Kandia Dulce, Ideal Board Games, Red Bull, and the Romanian Basketball Federation (FR Baschet). The official radio partner of the competition was Kiss FM.
