The International Basketball Federation -FIBA- concluded a week of 3×3 competition with two complementary outcomes across its international calendar. Lithuania successfully defended the men’s title and the USA reclaimed the women’s crown at the U23 World Cup in Wuhan, while the Hongcheon and Phoenix Challengers awarded six places at the Macau World Tour. Vienna, Cotai WOLFUNITED, Taipei WanBao, Miami, Amsterdam RABOBANK and Princeton consequently secured access to one of the final major stops of the professional season.
The events belong to different competitive structures. The U23 World Cup brings together national teams and allows federations to prepare players who may subsequently move into senior competition. The Challengers feature professional teams associated with cities and commercial partners and serve as qualifying events for the World Tour. There is no automatic progression from Wuhan to the professional circuit, but the competitions enable FIBA to operate its platform for young international players alongside the pathway into the highest level of professional 3×3.
Wuhan identifies its next generation
The seventh edition of the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup brought 20 men’s and 20 women’s national teams from all five continents to Hongshan Riverfront Park. The tournament gives players their first World Cup experience in a category positioned between age-group competition and senior national teams. It also allows each federation to develop squads specifically for a discipline built around shorter possessions, the constant involvement of all four players and decisions that differ from those required in five-on-five basketball. “It is the best the U23 level has to offer,” New Zealand’s Joshua Book said after reaching the quarter-finals.
Lithuania confirmed its recent dominance by defeating Latvia 19-18 and winning a second consecutive men’s title. The USA overcame Canada 15-10 in the women’s final to claim its second crown, following its previous success in 2024. Lithuania’s Paulius Velutis, who scored 47 points during the tournament, and American Victoria Elizabeth Mckinney received the MVP awards. Beyond the champions, Canada reached its first women’s final, Australia secured its first men’s medal and Spain collected a second consecutive women’s bronze, expanding the group of federations capable of challenging for a U23 podium.
Six teams take the road to Macau
While Wuhan was deciding its world titles, the 23rd and 24th Challengers of the season were providing further opportunities within the professional circuit. Each tournament awarded three places at the Macau World Tour, scheduled for 17 and 18 October. The system allows teams without direct entry to a World Tour stop to qualify through events held in different regions. The Challengers therefore form their own competitive network: they award points, titles and prize money while also determining which teams can step up to the leading level of the calendar during the season.
In Hongcheon, Vienna claimed its first victory of the 2026 Pro Circuit season by defeating Cotai WOLFUNITED 21-20. The Austrian team qualified for Macau alongside the runners-up and Taipei WanBao. One day later in Phoenix, Miami defeated Amsterdam RABOBANK 22-16 to collect its third Challenger title of 2026, following victories at FISE Birmingham and the Sansar Challenger. Miami, Amsterdam and Princeton completed the second group of qualifiers. Together, the two events awarded World Tour places to teams representing Austria, Macau, Chinese Taipei, the USA and the Netherlands.
Players and cities within the circuit
The return of Jimmer Fredette provided the main individual story in Phoenix. The former NBA player and 2011 Naismith College Player of the Year returned to the circuit after announcing his retirement in April 2025. Fredette helped Miami win the title and was named MVP after recording 27 points, ten successful two-point shots and the tournament’s highest total player value. In Hongcheon, the award went to Quincy Diggs, one of Vienna’s central figures. Their performances reflected two profiles found across the circuit: players arriving from traditional basketball and specialists who have built their careers directly within 3×3.
The three host venues also demonstrated the discipline’s ability to adapt to different settings. Wuhan staged the U23 World Cup in a riverside park, Hongcheon used the K Convention square and Phoenix took the competition to an entertainment complex in Glendale. The schedule will continue on 26 and 27 September with the Deqing World Tour and the Mataró Challenger. The U23 medallists will return to their national federation programmes, while the six qualifiers prepare for Macau in a season that keeps national-team competition separate from the professional race for places on the World Tour.
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