The night in Vienna

For all the recent near-misses, few players in the men’s game can match Stojačić’s record: World Cup MVP and Europe Cup MVP in 2023, two World Cup titles, two Europe Cup gold medals, three World Tour MVP awards in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and a place in the World Cup Team of the Tournament at each of the last three editions.

He does not make much of the individual honours.

“It is not about which [person] is first,” he said of the rankings. “We want our team to be the best team in the world, and that’s it, just focus on the team, and to play every time better and better.”

With that said, there is one memory for the 34-year-old that stands out above the rest: Vienna, 2023.

Serbia beat the USA 21-19 in the World Cup final to retain their title, despite Jimmer Fredette scoring 10 points for the beaten finalists.

“The second gold in the World Cup, in Vienna, 2023,” he said. “This is the tournament where we really played very well, and I played maybe the best game of my life. The crowd was amazing, we had so many fans. We had so much luck in the end, but we won this game and we won the gold.”

Making history in Warsaw

The Asia Cup run was followed by qualification for the World Cup — the Philippines’ first appearance since going winless as hosts in 2018 — and the team arrived in Warsaw as heavy underdogs in Pool C, which included Latvia, Paris 2024 Olympic champions Germany, People’s Republic of China, and Italy.

Defeats in their opening three games left one final chance to make a statement, and Dela Rosa, Afril Bernardino, Camille Clarin, and Mikka Cacho seized it, toppling Italy for a landmark first win at the sport’s showpiece event.

For Dela Rosa, the result is another sign of momentum building back home.

“It’s getting big because they’re opening a lot of leagues for 3×3 in the Philippines now, women’s basketball especially,” she said. “I’m very happy that I’m a big part of it right now, and I want to be an inspiration to the other kids. I’m really happy and excited for the kids who want to play in the future.”

What’s at stake for LA28?

Plenty. The Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 will be the third time 3×3 basketball has featured at the Olympics, though for this occasion the field has expanded from eight teams per gender at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, to 12 in Los Angeles — meaning more nations than ever have a realistic path to the Olympic stage.

The USA are already qualified as hosts. The Netherlands’ women’s team and Spain’s men have also secured places in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament pathway after their performances at the Champions Cup in Bangkok earlier this year. But for the majority of the field in Warsaw, the road to LA28 runs right through this tournament, and here’s how.

FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) operates a dedicated 24-month Federation Ranking cycle running until December 2027, which will determine five of the 11 available qualifying spots per gender for LA28. Those five spots are not simply awarded to the five highest-ranked nations globally. Instead, they are distributed regionally — one each to the top-ranked federation in Africa, the Americas, and Europe, and two to Asia-Pacific, with at least one of those reserved for an Asian nation. 

That ranking is built from the points each player earns at every FIBA-endorsed event based on how far their team advances, whether they win games before the time limit, and their own personal performance stats. A nation’s Federation Ranking is then calculated by adding up the individual points of its top 25 ranked players. The World Cup sits at the very top of that competition network, meaning the points on offer in Warsaw are the most valuable of the entire season.

In short, the stronger a country’s player pool performs across the circuit, the higher it climbs and the closer it gets to LA28.

MIES (Switzerland) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that Tokyo and Shanghai will host the Olympic Q-Series events featuring 3×3 basketball on the road to the LA28 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Q-Series is the final qualification pathway for 3×3 basketball at LA28, bringing together elite athletes across multiple urban sports in a festival-style format. Tokyo will stage its event from May 4-7, 2028, while Shanghai will follow from May 11-14, 2028.

In Tokyo, 3×3 basketball will be contested alongside BMX Freestyle, Sport Climbing and Skateboarding. Shanghai will host 3×3 basketball together with Beach Volleyball, BMX Freestyle and Sport Climbing.

The expanded Olympic Q-Series is part of the IOC’s vision to showcase urban and youth-focused sports in a shared, fan-friendly environment. For 3×3 basketball, the road to LA28 includes qualification through the FIBA 3×3 Federation Rankings, the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (Universality and Ranking), and the Olympic Q-Series. Together, these pathways will determine the teams that earn their place at the LA28 Olympic Games.

The inclusion of Tokyo and Shanghai also highlights two cities that have played significant roles in the continued growth of 3×3 basketball. Tokyo hosted the sport’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games, while Shanghai has established itself as one of the leading destinations on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and Women’s Series calendars.

1 ticket per gender to the Los Angeles 28 Olympics will be available in each Olympic Qualifier Series Tournament.

More information on the LA28 qualification system for 3×3 basketball is available at FIBA3x3.com.

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About FIBA 3×3

Exciting, urban and innovative, 3×3 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 has since benefited from the launch of yearly professional circuits for men and women (World Tour and Women’s Series respectively) as well as national team competitions. 3×3 made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

FIBA