Ljubljana win 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Final

28 Oct 2016

ABU DHABI (FIBA 3x3 World Tour) – Team Ljubljana (SLO) won the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final after defeating Hamamatsu (JPN) (21-12) in the title game in Abu Dhabi on 27-28 October.

Ljubljana had a perfect 5-0 record in the state-of-the-art International Tennis Complex at Zayed Sports City.

Sharpshooter Jasmin Hercegovac was on fire in Abu Dhabi, scoring a whopping 50 points in just 5 games, including 17 shots from behind the arc.

The number five 3x3 player in the world had a game-high 11 points in the final. Tomo Cajic scored 5 while Ales Kunc added 4 and Blaz 'Birdman' Cresnar had 1.

Bikramjit Gill – the runner-up in the scoring charts - scored a team-high 6 points for Hamamatsu, who beat reigning champs Novi Sad Al Wahda (UAE) in the semi-finals. Inderbir Gill contributed 3 points, while Amjyot Singh had 2 and Chihiro Ikeda 1.

Ljubljana are back on top of the 3x3 professional world after winning their last World Tour title back in 2013.

They qualified for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final after winning the Prague Masters on 6-7 August. Hamamatsu made it to the Final after winning the professional 3x3 Japanese league – the .EXE Premier League – , playing in two World Tour Masters and finishing 8th in the World Tour season standings

The fifth edition of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour featured an increased 7 Masters, starting on 16-17 July in Mexico City also stopping in Utsunomiya, Prague, Lausanne, Debrecen, Beijing and Mexico DF. The Final saw the winners of all Masters and the rest of the teams, which finished in the Top 12 in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour season standings.

Vadim 'Miller' Poddubchenko (UKR) wowed the crowd at the Etihad Dunk Contest with a series of powerful dunks, including a mean jam over 2 people and a motorbike.

Marcin Chudy (Gdansk, POL) nailed the last two ‘money balls’ to win the Mercedes Benz Shot-Out Contest Final.

Ljubljana took home the US $30,000 winning prize and an automatic berth for the FIBA 3x3 All Stars. The top six teams collected prize money, which reached US $300,000 in the entire 3x3 professional season in 2016.

Final Standings of the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Final:
1. Ljubljana (SLO)
2. Hamamatsu (JPN)
3. Caguas (PUR)
4. Novi Sad Al Wahda (UAE)
5. Kranj (SLO)
6. Chicago (USA)
7. Piran (SLO)
8. Belgrade (SRB)
9. Sao Paulo DC (BRA)
10. Saskatoon (CAN)
11. Gdansk (POL)
12. St Petersburg (RUS)

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ABOUT FIBA 3x3

Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.

It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefitted from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour (www.fiba.basketball/3x3worldtour) and national-team world championships.

Nike is FIBA 3x3's Founding Partner.

FIBA 3x3 events are played on Sport Court's floors with Schelde backstops and benefit from Wilson's innovative and specially-made ball for 3x3. 

For further information about 3x3, visit fiba.com/3x3, FIBA3x3 accounts on Facebook, InstagramTwitter and YouTube or contact 3x3@fiba.com.