Burger King 3X3 Quest Tour stops in Hamilton before World Tour qualifier

The Burger King 3X3 Quest Basketball Tour will be hosted in the Waikato this Saturday, at Garden Place in Hamilton. This will be the last chance for Open Mens teams to qualify for the World Tour Qualifier, to be held the following week at The Cloud, in Auckland.

Basketball New Zealands 3x3 Manager, David Huxford, says the tour is ramping up to the big finale, with Hamilton being the 14th stop on the tour of 15 New Zealand locations.

"Its been another big summer of 3x3 basketball, which weve taken all around the country. Each year the competitions talent gets stronger. Out last stop, at The Cloud, is where the winning mens teams from the regional events will compete for the right to represent their city at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters in Japan, this July. That event is going to be livestreamed and the world will be watching to see how New Zealands talent is looking for the World Tour and possibly the Olympics."

Huxford says the 3x3 format is having a tremendous period of growth in New Zealand and worldwide, which he says is why the competition gets more competitive every year.

"One of the most exciting 3x3 events this year will be a simple announcement in June by the IOC as to whether or not 3x3 will be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Weve been directing our 3x3 programme towards this, so were waiting for the announcement with baited breath."

Looking to Saturday in Hamilton, Huxford says the Open Mens grade is already full, with 12 teams having already registered. The other grades of boys and girls under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open womens are rapidly filling up.

"The Waikato has an incredibly strong basketball presence in New Zealand, especially in the womens game. In 2016, The Waikato Wizards were Runners Up in the Womens Basketball Championships, plus Waikato won the Under 23 Womens National Champs and the Under 17 national champs. St Peters Cambridge won the girls National Secondary Schools Championships. So thats a quick example of how basketball is in the blood there and locals are always pleased to see the tour arrive. They really get in behind the event and make a great day out of it."

To enter the final two Burger 3x3 Quest Tour events, Huxford says players must be registered on 3x3Planet.com to enter.

"On 3x3Planet, players can enter events, track their results and compare their FIBA ranking to their friends and other 3X3 players internationally. Its extremely important that all players have an official 3x3Planet.com profile when they play in the Tour. Creating a profile is easy and only takes about three minutes. Once theyve created their 3x3Planet account all they need to do is respond to the confirmation email and theyre ready to play."

Burger King Quest 3X3 Tour Schedule:

DATE LOCATION VENUE

Sat 26 Nov 2016 Whangarei Whangarei Netball Courts

Sat 03 Dec 2016 New Plymouth Waiwhakaiho Netball Courts

Sat 10 Dec 2016 North Shore (Auckland) Westlake Girls High School (covered netball courts)

Sat 17 Dec 2016 Rotorua The Energy Events Centre (carpark)

Sat 14 Jan 2017 Mangere (Auckland) Otahuhu Netball Centre, David Lange Park.

Sat 21 Jan 2017 Tauranga Blake Park Tennis Courts, Mt Maunganui

Sat 28 Jan 2017 Henderson (Auckland) Trusts Arena (indoors)

Sat 11 Feb 2017 Nelson Tahunanui Beach Tennis Courts

Sat 18 Feb 2017 Christchurch Hagley Park Netball Courts

Sat 25 Feb 2017 Invercargill Invercargill Netball Centre, Surrey Park Road

Sun 26 Feb 2017 Dunedin The Octagon

Sat 05 Mar 2017 Palmerston North Waldegrave Street carpark

Sat 11 Mar 2017 Wellington Odlins Plaza Wellington Waterfront

Sat 18 Mar 2017 Hamilton Garden Place Hamilton

Sat 25 Mar 2017 Auckland Central- The Cloud, 89 Quay Street, Auckland

- This event will be both a normal Burger King 3x3 Quest Tour event (minus Open men's grade) plus the World Tour Qualifier Final for eligible Open Men's teams from throughout New Zealand.



- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand