Exciting action on cards as 3x3 Doha Masters starts Friday

The competition, featuring 14 teams including two from the host country — Lusail and Doha — will compete for top honours, will be held under strict health protocols.

The third edition of the FIBA 3x3 Basketball World Tour Doha Masters will tip off at the Al Gharafa Sports Complex on Friday. The two-day event, with the world’s top 10 teams competing for the first title of 2021, will be held without fans. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) secretary general Ali al-Malki said Qatar is excited to host the competition again. “We are excited to host the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters once again in Doha. But this time sadly we don’t have fans at the venue because of the pandemic,” al-Malki said yesterday. The competition, featuring 14 teams including two from the host country — Lusail and Doha — will compete for top honours, will be held under strict health protocols. “Qatar Basketball Federation is a firm supporter of 3x3 and with the assistance of Qatar Olympic Committee, we made all the necessary preparations, we respected all the rules imposed by the Ministry of Public Health. All the teams are already in Doha. They had good training and everything is under control. We are now ready to host the best teams in the world,” he said. FIBA 3×3 Head of Events and Partnerships Ignacio Soriano is confident that the event will be a success. “I feel like last time, the event will be a success story again,” Soriano said. “FIBA thanks QBF, Qatar Olympic Committee and health authorities for making this event a reality especially given the current circumstances,” said Soriano. The teams taking part in the event are – Word No 1 Liman, Riga, Ub, NY Harlem, Princeton, Novi Sad, Amsterdam Talent&Pro, Piran, Sakiai Gulbele, Edmonton, Lusail, Graz, Doha, Manila Chooks TM. With the return of their entire squad, including World Tour 2020 MVP Nauris Miezis, Riga look all set for the Doha three-peat. The Latvians are sure favourites, looking for their third straight World Tour win in Doha, following successful campaigns in 2019 and 2020. Abdulrahman Saad will represent local hopes with the Lusail team and he comes into the Masters in form having starred for Al Gharafa in the 5x5 domestic league. The talented 24-year-old Saad is the No.2 ranked Qatari. Nedim Muslic, Seydou Ndoye, Tanguy Alban H Ngombo and Erfaan Ali Saaeed are the other players of Lusail team. The Doha team members are Faisal Abuissa, Babacr Dieng, Meho Haracic and Abdelrahman Yehia. The event will be available on the FIBA Twitch channel and will be co-hosted by Vince Chang, a stand-up comedian and 3x3 superfan. Fans following the event on Twitch will be able to interact with the event as never before, selecting candidates for post-game player interviews and having a say in the Most Spectacular Player selection.