SAN SALVADOR (El Salvador) – The schedule and key matchups for the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup 2026 have been confirmed, with the Americas’ top men’s and women’s teams set to battle for continental supremacy in San Salvador from October 28 to November 1.

The five-day tournament features defending champions United States in both competitions, alongside returning medalists Puerto Rico, Brazil and Canada. With the Qualifying Draw opening the action before the Main Draw gets underway, several intriguing pool-stage clashes will set the tone for the race to the podium.

Here are some of the key games to watch at the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup 2026.

Women’s Draw

The pool games begin on October 30 with an intriguing matchup in the women’s competition, as Chile face Mexico in Pool C. Both teams will be looking to make an early statement in a competitive group, with the winner hoping to gain valuable momentum before the decisive second day of pool play.

The women’s draw also features Canada against hosts El Salvador in Pool A. Canada will be eager to reclaim the title after finishing runners-up to the United States in 2025, and a strong start will be important as they look to return to the top of the continental podium. For the home team, it should be a meaningful gauge of where they stand against one of 3×3 basketball’s best national teams.

Action continues on October 31 with the defending champions taking center stage. In the women’s competition, the United States open their campaign facing the Cayman Islands in Pool B. The Americans will aim to defend their crown and secure another gold medal, while the Cayman Islands will have an opportunity to test themselves against the reigning champions.

The women’s Pool D matchup between Puerto Rico and Argentina is another one to watch. Puerto Rico will be looking to build on their previous AmeriCup campaigns and push for a breakthrough result. Meanwhile, Argentina will aim to make a deep run of their own.

Men’s Draw

On the men’s side, Puerto Rico take on Brazil in Pool B in a meeting between two teams that finished among the top three at last year’s FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup. Puerto Rico claimed silver, while Brazil secured bronze, and both will be eager to challenge the United States for the title. Some big names like Luis Cuascut (PUR) and Leo Branquinho (BRA) are also set to face each other here, which raises the stakes even more.

Pool D delivers another compelling men’s matchup as Chile face Argentina. Both nations will look to make their mark in a group that also features a team advancing from the Qualifying Draw. With places in the knockout rounds at stake, this South American clash offers an early opportunity to gain an edge over a regional rival.

The United States men’s team will also begin their Main Draw campaign against the winner of Qualifying Draw A in Pool A before facing hosts El Salvador later in the day. The matchup against the hosts could provide one of the day’s liveliest atmospheres, with El Salvador looking to make the most of home-court support against one of the tournament’s heavy favorites.

Canada’s men also face the winner of Qualifying Draw C in Pool C on October 31, while Mexico meet the same qualifying pathway later in the day. With the final pool standings determining the knockout round matchups, every game will carry added significance as the competition moves toward the knockout stage.

Following the pool phase, the tournament shifts into knockout mode on November 1, with the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals determining the new men’s and women’s champions. With the defending champions looking to retain their crowns and a field of regional contenders ready to challenge, the last day of action promises high-stakes 3×3 basketball from start to finish.

See the Games tab for the full schedule.

Stay Connected

Follow all the latest action from the FIBA 3×3 Cups tournaments throughout the 2026 season by visiting the official FIBA 3×3 website, where you can find the latest news, star players and everything you need to know. Fans can also keep track of the Event Calendar and the latest FIBA 3×3 Individual and Federation Rankings as teams and players continue their push toward the season finale.

Want to learn more about 3×3 basketball? Explore the official FIBA 3×3 Rules to understand the unique fast-paced format of the game, or discover the FIBA 3×3 Competition Structure to see how the discipline’s global pathway connects grassroots events, professional tours and world-class international competitions.

FIBA

NAGOYA – While there were several fine individual performances from Team Singapore’s athletes at the 2026 Asian Games, the Republic’s team sports have continued to draw a blank at the continental meet.

Only water polo has delivered team sport medals for Singapore at the Asiad since the inaugural 1951 edition. But since their last medal – a men’s team bronze in 1986 – no team from the Republic have stood on an Asian Games podium.

At a press conference on Oct 4 to review Team Singapore’s Aichi-Nagoya campaign, High Performance Sport Institute chief Low Jia Ren acknowledged the challenges faced, adding that the sports authorities are looking at how to narrow the gap for team sports at future Asiads.

Having formerly captained the men’s national basketball team, the 47-year-old is aware of the differences between the nature of individual and team sports.

Noting team sports’ need for a bigger talent pool, he said: “When you are racing or shooting, this is something you can control (on your own).

“In team sports, there are opponents opposite you, there are teammates alongside you, and you need everyone in the team, whether it’s three or four in 3×3 basketball, or more in rugby sevens and water polo. Everything needs to click at the same time to win at the Asian level, and it’s difficult.”

At the Aichi-Nagoya Games, most of Singapore’s team sports did not have a good outing.

The water polo teams, who were aiming to improve on their encouraging performances at the previous Asiad and inch closer to the podium, were overtaken by more rivals instead.

The men’s team, which have contributed one gold, three silvers and three bronzes in past Games, slipped from fifth to seventh out of eight nations, while the women’s team slid from fourth out of seven countries to last out of six.

Other team sports Singapore competed in include field hockey (women’s team finished 10th out of 12), rugby sevens (women’s and men’s teams respectively placed seventh out of eight and 11th out of 12) and softball (women’s team finished seventh out of eight).

There were glimpses of hope, however, in 3×3 basketball.

Despite a 20-16 loss to last edition’s bronze medallists Mongolia during the play-ins for the quarter-finals, the men’s team gave South Korea their biggest test in a 19-14 pool defeat – the most the eventual champions conceded.

The women’s team went one step further to reach the last eight before losing to eventual runners-up Philippines.

Low noted that unlike the continental powerhouses, Singapore lack professional leagues in many team sports which would provide opportunities for these athletes to pursue their sport full-time and create an environment for them to reach a higher level.

However, studies are being conducted to see what can be adapted for the Singapore context to bring about more improvement.

Citing 3×3 basketball, where Singapore teams are supported on the FIBA 3×3 circuit, he said: “What made the difference was that they came together, trained at a full-time level, went overseas and competed regularly.

“Almost every weekend, they had competitions against the best in the world, and then worked on what it takes to be competitive.”

While the 3×3 basketballers have the opportunity to train full-time and play regularly in global tournaments, most of the other team sports have at best ad-hoc training and competition tours to prepare for major meets and a handful of players attached to foreign clubs.

Low added: “We need to now study this across all team sports because for every team sport, their environment and leagues are different. If what it takes is a full-time and competitive environment, whether locally or overseas, we need to start to move towards that.”

Published September 16, 2026 7:26pm

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The Gilas Pilipinas Men U23 team opened its 2026 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup campaign with back-to-back losses on Wednesday in Wuhan, China.

The Philippine bets fell to New Zealand and Spain to go 0-2 in Pool B while Latvia and Spain both lead the group with identical 2-0 cards followed by New Zealand at 1-1.

Gilas Pilipinas, bannered by Cabs Cabonillas, Jedric Daa, John Earl Medina, and Malcolm Tyler, opened its campaign with a 21-11 loss to New Zealand, which sealed the victory with still 3:41 left to spare off a Chris Martin basket.

New Zealand started the game with an 11-4 run before Far Eastern University rookie Cabonillas pulled the youthful Filipinos to within four, 12-8, with 6:02 left in the race-to-21 match.

However, New Zealand responded with a 10-4 closing run to stun the Philippines. Medina led Gilas with six points while Cabonillas and Tyler both finished with two markers.

Gilas then faced Spain in the second game, but ran out of gas as well en route to a 21-15 loss with Cabonillas churning out six points and Tyler chipping in five markers laced with three rebounds.

Gilas Men will take on Egypt and Latvia on Thursday to revive their playoff hopes.

—JKC, GMA News