NOUMEA (New Caledonia) - The Région Fédérale de Nouvelle Calédonie de Basketball (RFNCBB) launched their first ever U20 3x3 Men's and Women's Championship yesterday (19 July) held at the Melissa Delaveuve in New Noumea, New Caledonia.

The competition featured ten Men's teams and five Women's teams, which will also add two more additional teams in the Men's division in the upcoming legs of the tournament.

"We created this 3x3 tournament because we will not be able to hold our regular basketball youth championships. 3x3 is a fun and growing discipline and it gives us a chance to promote the game to the youth," shared RFNCBB Secretary-General, Bridget Delaveuve.

"It was easier to recruit players with only four players needed for each team and we were able to have a total of 15 teams and two more join us in the next editions of the tournament," she added.

The tournament schedule will include five play dates every Sunday in the starting 19 July and the Finals phase on 21 October and 15 November.

Delaveuve shared that the games attracted a good crowd in the venue which proves the viability and the potential of 3x3 in the country.

"We had over 150 people watching the games and it was a great atmosphere with the fast-paced action that provided exciting and entertaining games. The players, fans, and officials had fun during the tournament," she said.

New Caledonia hosted the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship in 2019 and Delaveuve pressed on the importance of developing events and competitions to help develop the grassroots program of basketball in the country.

"We are happy to be able to launch this championship which was eagerly awaited by all these young people in need of competition and it showed in their passion and competitiveness during the games," Delaveuve said. "We are grateful to everyone involved in the first day of the competitions from the young referees and tournament officials we trained for the competitions. The values we instilled in Friendship, Fair Play, Respect, and Fun were respected,".

FIBA