NGERULMUND (Palau) - IBF Youth Leadership Cup alumna Tint Adelbai, with the support of the Palau Basketball Federation, organized an open 3x3 competition in Palau to kick off the new year.

The two-day competition was held at the Palau High School gym with over 19 teams registering for the tournament including 14 Men's and 4 Women's teams in its respective division.

"We were delighted with the turnout and 3x3 has been certainly gaining popularity in the country, and we want to continue riding that momentum in 2021," shared Adelbai.

The 24-year old Adelbai beamed when asked about her passion for 3x3, specifically the online component to organize competitions.

"The Event Maker makes it more special and unique than any other sports in Palau because all we need to do is just to input numbers while it automatically gives us results such as players stats, standings," she said.

"Also what makes the 3x3 like nothing else is the fact you can view players profile online and of course we can see the ranking of teams, players, and the Federation," she added.

Photo: Adelbai (left) with organizers of the competition

Adelbai a representative of Palau's national team hopes that the online rankings of 3x3 can inspire more players to play and compete in tournaments this year.

"The online rankings are helpful because knowing where we stand pushes players wanting to get to the top. We are planning a lot of 3x3 competitions this year to continue the development of basketball in the country," she shared.

The Palau native represented her country in the 2019 IBF Youth Leadership Cup held in Singapore and Indonesia to learn about 3x3 and Basketball For Good. Adelbai is continuing her commitment to helping develop and promote basketball in her country.

"Basketball has given me a lot of great opportunities and I will forever feel grateful, so I will continue to give my best and effort to help the sport grow in Palau. I am putting into practice the things I learned in my experience in the IBF Leadership Cup and I am happy to be able to contribute in my own way," she ended.

 FIBA