Two of the players who won Olympic gold for the Netherlands in Paris will be on court at Dubai Festival City Mall next week, when the FIBA 3×3 World Tour comes to Festival Bay on 6 and 7 November.
Worthy de Jong and Dimeo van der Horst will play for Amsterdam Rabobank, one of 14 teams in the draw. Serbian sides Ub and Liman are also entered, along with teams from Germany, China, Spain, Croatia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Switzerland, Thailand and Qatar.
Entry is free. Spectators need to register in advance through the Coca-Cola Arena website.
The home side, Dubai, are coached by Dušan Bulut, one of the best-known names in the three-a-side game. The Serbian was ranked world No 1 as a player, won four FIBA 3×3 World Cups and four World Tour titles with Novi Sad, and took Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Dubai have already played World Tour stops in Bucharest, Madrid and Barcelona this season. Their squad mixes overseas professionals with two Emirati players, Khalid Khalifa and Hussein Habib, who are gaining experience alongside them on the international circuit.
There is prize money on offer, as well as ranking points. Those points feed into FIBA’s 3×3 rankings, which are used for Olympic qualification ahead of Los Angeles 2028. The World Tour season ends in Rio de Janeiro on 12 and 13 December.
Dubai Sports Council is running the event under FIBA’s supervision and with the UAE Basketball Association. It is one of the events covered by the council’s agreement with FIBA, which runs until 2028. Work on the waterfront court is under way.
School pupils get their turn before the main event. On Thursday, 5 November, the Amsterdam players will visit Dubai schools to talk about competing at the top level. That afternoon, the same court will host the Dubai Schools Games 3×3 basketball finals, so qualifying school teams will play where the professionals compete a day later.
The council will also hold a press conference at Festival Bay on 5 November to confirm final arrangements for the weekend.
For anyone new to the format, 3×3 is played on a half-court with one basket. Each team has three players on court, and games last 10 minutes – or end early if one side reaches 21 points.
