FIBA 3×3 Basketball Europe Cup: The Game Is On

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games have barely reached their finishing line, and it’s already time for a new challenge for the European 3×3 basketball teams. As the ninth edition of the Europe Cup rolled in this Thursday, 22 August 2024, once again the world of basketball is buzzing with excitement.

Pronounced “three-ex-three”, this form of basketball began its existence as a street and gym game. As the name suggests, instead of the usual five, there are only three players on each side, with one substitute waiting on the bench. As it would be common for a street or gym environment, there is only one backboard.

Standardized 3×3 basketball is relatively young. In the US the process of bringing conformity to the rules and popularizing the game started in the late 2000s, even though 3×3 basketball has always enjoyed a great following, regardless of not having an official form. 

Currently, some of the most important championships in 3×3 basketball are the FIBA 3X3 World Tour, FIBA 3×3 World Cups, as well as the Europe Cup. The sport made its Olympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games and was also part of the programme during the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The latest Olympic medalists among men are the Netherlands with gold, France with silver, and Lithuania with bronze. Among women the 2024 Olympic medals were distributed in the following way: gold went to Germany, Spain took home silver, while the United States earned bronze. 

FIBA 3×3 Basketball Europe Cup: A Comprehensive Guide

This year will mark the ninth edition of the FIBA 3×3 basketball Europe Cup. Its inaugural edition was conducted in 2014 in the capital of Romania, Bucharest. It has been an annual event ever since , except for 2015 and 2020. As most international basketball events, it is also governed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). 

Being a continental championship, the Europe Cup can be held in one of the 50 member states of FIBA Europe. Participation is also limited to European teams. During the period of its existence, the following nations have participated in the FIBA 3×3 basketball Europe Cup:

Men’s Teams

• Andorra
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Belgium
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Greece
• Hungary
• Israel
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine

Women’s Teams

• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine

As to the winners, take a look at the teams that reached the winning positions and their scores below.

Men’s Tournaments

Women’s Tournaments

Current overall medal distribution among those 50 FIBA Europe member states that participate in the 3×3 basketball Europe Cup on the regular basis can be found below.

2024 FIBA 3×3 Basketball Europe Cup: In the Heat of the Game

This year will mark the second time Austria will host the 3×3 basketball Europe Cup. While it was the country’s second largest city Graz in 2022, this time around it is the capital Vienna itself that welcomes the teams. The matches will be held on Kaiserwiese between 22 and 25 August. 

Preliminary rounds for both men’s and women’s teams are scheduled on 22 and 23 August, while all quarter finals will take place on 24 August. Semifinals and medal matches will be played on 25 August. 

The qualification process for the 2024 Europe Cup was conducted in several stages. A total of 12 teams per gender would be eligible to participate in the championship. As the host and the defending champions in both genders qualify automatically, the next three spots were given to the highest ranked teams who were not yet qualified. 

The distribution of the remaining seven spots was determined in a series of qualifying tournaments that were played throughout June 2024. Out of these, Bratislava, Copenhagen, and Bucharest offered 2 spots per gender, while Pristina was oriented towards nations with small basketball representation and offered one spot for men’s teams and one for women’s teams.

The overall results of the qualification process were as follows:

Men’s Teams

Women’s Teams

Seedings before the preliminary rounds looked as below:

Men’s Teams

Women’s Teams

3×3 Basketball Europe Cup: Men’s Tournament

Pool B and pool D among men’s teams were set to play the preliminary matches on 22 August 2024, while pool A and pool C were going to play on 23 August. 

In pool B, Lithuania lost one game 19 – 21 to Switzerland and won one 17 – 14 against Croatia. The third match between Switzerland and Croatia ended in 16 – 13, with Switzerland winning the game. As a result, Switzerland and Lithuania progressed to the quarterfinals. 

In pool D, France won both its games, 22 – 14 against Great Britain and 22 – 15 against Latvia. The game between Latvia and Great Britain ended in 20 – 21, with Great Britain winning. Correspondingly, France will play against Lithuania, while Great Britain will play against Switzerland in the quarterfinals. 

In pool A, Spain won both its matches: 21 – 18 against Germany and 21 – 15 against Serbia. Serbia then proceeded to win against Germany 21 – 10. Serbia and Spain moved on to the quarterfinals. 

In pool C, the Netherlands won 21 – 9 against Azerbaijan and 22 – 19 against Austria. The match between Austria and Azerbaijan ended in 20 – 18, with the tournament hosts winning. As a result, Austria will play Spain in the quarterfinals, while the Netherlands will play Serbia. 

The full set up for the men’s tournament quarterfinals is the following:

• Spain vs Austria
• France vs Lithuania
• Switzerland vs Great Britain
• Netherlands vs Serbia

The results of the men’s quarterfinals that were played on 24 August were as follows:

Advancing to the semifinals, Austria played Lithuania, and Switzerland played Serbia. The results of both semifinal games are below:

The medal rounds took place on Sunday, August 25. Lithuania and Switzerland played for the third place and the bronze medal. With 21 – 18, Lithuania became the bronze medalist.

And finally, the match between Austria and Serbia resulted in 18 – 17. Correspondingly, the silver medal goes to Serbia, while Austria will be taking home the golden medal and its first title of the 2024 FIBA 3×3 basketball Europe Cup champions.

3×3 Basketball Europe Cup: Women’s Tournament

Pool A and pool C among women’s teams were scheduled for the preliminary matches on 22 August 2024. Pool B and pool D played on 23 August. 

In pool A, France won one game 14 – 10 against Italy and another one 17 – 11 against Ukraine. Ukraine, however, went on to win 15 – 11 against Italy. France and Ukraine were propelled to the quarterfinals. 

In pool C, Spain defeated Azerbaijan with 20 – 12 and Austria with 20 – 14. The match between Austria and Azerbaijan ended in 21 – 7, with the hosts winning the game. Now Austria is set to play with France in the quarterfinals, while Spain will meet Ukraine.

In pool B, Germany won a match against Romania with 21 – 7, but lost one against Poland with 14 – 21. Poland won its second match too, scoring 17 – 9 against Romania. Germany and Poland will be playing in the quarterfinals. 

In pool D, the Netherlands defeated Latvia with 19 – 13 and Hungary with 16 – 12. Hungary took its second defeat from Latvia with the score 14 – 16. Moving to the quarterfinals, the Netherlands will play with Germany, while Latvia will face Poland.

The full set up for the women’s tournament quarterfinals is the following:

• France vs Austria
• Netherlands vs Germany
• Poland vs Latvia
• Spain vs Ukraine

The quarter finals were played on 24 August, and results were as follows:

After they progressed to semifinals, France played Netherlands, and Spain played Poland. Here are the results of both games:

Same as in the men’s tournament, the medal rounds of the women’s tournament were held on Sunday, August 25. The fate of the bronze medal was decided in the match between Poland and Netherlands. With 21 – 14, Netherlands took the third place.

And finally, the match between France and Spain resulted in 11 – 19. Correspondingly, the silver medal goes to France, while Spain celebrates the golden medal and its second title of the 2024 FIBA 3×3 basketball Europe Cup champions.

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