“It’s so cool, I missed it so much” was the most frequently heard phrase, in one form or another, among the hundreds of participants at the first stop of the national 3×3 basketball circuit, BCR Sport Arena Streetball, which was played from Friday to Sunday on the courts at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.
After 251 days since the last game of the 2023 season, at the final in Constanța, the 3×3 basketball community reunited at Politehnica, the place where the story of this Olympic discipline began almost 20 years ago. A total of 600 players participated in the event across 12 age and gender categories, and out of the 150 registered teams, 83 were in the under-21 age categories.
Beyond the joy of reunion, the competitive spirit quickly took hold of the participants from the first matches. Each player earns points both in the international ranking, as the events are part of the FIBA 3×3 competition network, and in the race to qualify for the BCR Sport Arena Streetball final tournament, which will take place in September.
A total of 231 3×3 basketball games were played over more than 32 hours of competition, and 120 athletes were awarded. There was total relaxation in the fan zone, yet over 3,000 people who attended the event area also enjoyed various challenges in the form of contests, both at the basketball-themed stations and in the gaming area. Over 200 prizes were awarded throughout the three days of competition, and fun was guaranteed.
In the elite competition, University of Pitești for men and Agro Squad for women dominated the event, featuring players who compete in national basketball leagues. Pitești won the championship title after defeating Știința București with a score of 21-15, while the women’s final was an internal affair, with Agro Squad overcoming Agro Squad 2 with a score of 21-14.
The show was thrilling in the under-21 and under-18 men’s categories, with both finals decided by just one possession. In the under-21 category, Alex Ionescu was unstoppable in the semifinals and finals, scoring a total of 21 points across the two games. He led his team, Știința București, to the championship title with a 21-19 win in the final against Mici cu Muștar, and was rewarded with the Rising Star MVP award offered by Horizon, as the best young player of the tournament.
In the under-18 category, CSU ASE claimed victory after defeating Peluza 1 Ilie Oană in the final, with a score of 18-16. In the race to the grand BCR Sport Arena Streetball final in September, four more stages will be played: Brașov (May 31 – June 2), Iași (July 19-21), Timișoara (August 9-11), with the location for the June 21-23 stage to be announced soon.
The partners of BCR Sport Arena Streetball 2024 are BCR, Mastercard, Nike, BCR Leasing, Horizon, BCR Life Insurance VIG, Kandia Dulce, Ideal Board Games, Red Bull, and the Romanian Basketball Federation (FR Baschet)
