SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) – Who says 2025 hasn’t been an ‘Olympic’ year?
From December 5 to 7, Special Olympics hosted its first-ever Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Around 200 athletes from approximately 25 countries competed in a spirit of camaraderie, with hoops at the center.
The historic global cup unites basketball players, with and without intellectual disabilities, on the same team.
Beyond the inclusivity already inherent in an event of this nature, dedicated Basketball For Good activations were also organized, in partnership with the FIBA Foundation.
Special Olympics is one of the Institutional Partners of FIBA Foundation, and have worked together on several events such as the FIBA Continentals and the FIBA Open. Special Olympics delegations have featured in the FIBA Open for years, acting as the precedent for the inaugural 3x3 Unified Basketball World Cup.
Basketball For Good Goes Bilingual
On December 4, two Basketball For Good sessions – in English and Spanish – were conducted for 30 coaches, representing every participating Special Olympics team. Local coaches from San Juan too joined in.
All these coaches were introduced to the ‘Basketball For Good Playbook’. The Playbook, launched earlier this year, breaks down how basketball can be used to also teach about relevant social issues connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Good Health and Well-Being, Gender Equality, and Climate Action.
Keeping in mind the ‘multi-country’ setting, the coaches worked on making some basketball drills more inclusive, sharing best practices from their own experiences, supported by FIBA Foundation and Special Olympics experts on-site.
The sessions were delivered by Basketball For Good facilitators Norbert Irizarry (Puerto Rico) and Viviana Aguayo (Chile), following their successful completion of the inaugural BB4G facilitator course in Nicaragua earlier this summer.
Mini Basketball Clinic
The following day, a Mini Basketball Clinic was held in San Juan’s T-Mobile District for 15 children with intellectual and physical disabilities from Special Olympics Puerto Rico.
The aim was to introduce them to an inclusive, fun, play-based basketball experience and make them feel part of the event.
The clinic started with a fun warm-up to promote body movement. The main session was divided into 3 different stations to introduce basic basketball skills (dribbling, passing, shooting) while at the same time teaching relevant social skills related to emotions, health and wellbeing, and hygiene, based on the Basketball For Good Playbook.
Every participant was recognized in front of a supportive audience and received a medal, along with their own basketball, to continue their basketball journey.
FIBA Hall of Famer Ticha Penicheiro (Class of 2025) graced the clinic both as an ambassador and as an active contributor.
Alongside Penicheiro, the presence of basketball legends Sam Perkins and Hamechetou Maiga Ba, lifted everyone’s spirits.
Sports are important for children and athletes as it helps them make friendships and feel included. Activities like this empowers them; it puts them in a place where feel valued, which is the most important thing.
Building off of the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup’s success, Special Olympics and FIBA Foundation intend to keep working hand in hand to promote inclusion through basketball, in 2026 and further.
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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.
The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.
FIBA