High school basketballers’ first shot at a national glory gets underway next week at the Rebel Sport 3X3 Secondary Schools Champs.
The four-day tournament will run from Wednesday 24 March through to Saturday 27 March at Pulman Arena in Takanini, Auckland. Play is scheduled to run from 9am and 7:30pm each day.
The Champs is split up into four different grades – senior and junior elite and senior and junior open grade – and will see over 650 players from 141 teams and 56 schools feature in over 700 games.
Basketball New Zealand 3×3 Manager David Huxford says he is over the moon to be having the event take place after last year’s cancellation due to Covid.
“It’s encouraging to see, despite a one-year hiatus, that 3X3 team numbers have increased from 2019 (128). Last year’s COVID-19 lockdown couldn’t have happened at a worse time for this event, especially after all the preparation by schools and the BBNZ tournaments team.
“Having Rebel Sport on as the naming rights partner has taken this event to a new level. I’m really looking forward to both the on-court event as well as the many off-court activations planned over the four days.”
Selected games will be broadcast on Sky Sport Next. Sky Sport Next and Basketball New Zealand, in collaboration with School Sport NZ, want to ensure we are protecting our rangatahi while still showcasing the senior talent within our sport. For this reason, we will be live streaming the senior events only. The junior events will not be live streamed in accordance with the Charter on the Broadcast of Secondary School Sport.
The Champs are also bringing something a little extra this year. An outdoor activation zone (weather depending) will be stationed outside Pulman Arena for teams and spectators to enjoy. You can expect to see NBL teams, Rebel Sport, Mai FM, a sausage sizzle plus more throughout the four days! The Rebel Sport dunk and shootout competitions are also pencilled in to take place at lunchtime on days three and four.
The draw and live stream schedule for the event is set to be confirmed later this week.
More info:
- Entry to watch the Rebel Sport 3X3 Secondary Schools Champs is free, so get along and support some of best high school basketball talent in the game’s shortened format.
- All players must create a FIBA 3×3 Planet profile before competing at the Champs. Players with a profile will be able to compare skills with friends and even with the pros on the international circuit. The more a person plays, the more points they accumulate. Click here to register.
- The draw is due to be released later this week. This will most likely change before the competition, so keep an eye out on the event page for updates here.
- Players can get familiar with all the rules for 2021’s 3×3 Champs here.
- Follow the event on Basketball New Zealand’s social media accounts on @BasketballNZ via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
