The Ruins of St. Paul’s (Ruínas de São Paulo) in Macau are hosting the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau 2026 on 17 and 18 October 2026. The tournament places international street basketball beside one of China’s best-known historic façades.

FIBA 3×3 World Tour reaches the Ruins of St. Paul’s

The Macau stop is part of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and is being staged at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on Saturday 17 October and Sunday 18 October 2026. The event is organised by Macau’s Sports Bureau and StarMac Entertainment Production Limited, with the Macau-China Basketball Association and Chaiioi Sports Company Limited as co-organisers.

The official programme brings 16 elite teams to Macau. The tournament is part of the qualification route towards the World Tour final and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Qualification and pool matches were scheduled for 17 October, followed by the knockout stage, semi-finals and final on 18 October. The Macau October programme places the tournament directly at the landmark.

A 400-year-old façade becomes a basketball backdrop

The venue is the surviving front and stairway of the Church of Mater Dei, built between 1602 and 1640. The neighbouring remains belong to the former St. Paul’s College, which formed part of the same religious complex before a fire destroyed it in 1835.

This makes the basketball setting more specific than a city-centre sports venue. The court sits within a historic complex that also contains archaeological remains, a Museum of Sacred Art and a Crypt. The Cultural Affairs Bureau describes the site as a testimony to the first western-style institution of university level in the Far East. Its official history of the former college records the archaeological work carried out from 1990 to 1996 and the inauguration of the museum and crypt on 23 October 1996.

The event therefore brings a contemporary international sport to a place shaped by Portuguese Jesuit activity, regional craftsmanship and the long exchange between Eastern and Western cultures. The site forms part of the Historic Centre of Macao, which is recognised as a World Heritage area.

Macau’s landmark hosts two 3×3 basketball stages

The FIBA tournament is followed by the 3×3 Greater Bay Area Tour 2026 Finals from 19 to 21 October 2026. Those finals are scheduled for the Ruins of St. Paul’s and the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, extending the sporting programme beyond the two-day international stop.

FIBA reported after the opening day on 17 October 2026 that the quarter-finals were set for Sunday 18 October at the Ruins of St. Paul’s. The report named teams including Miami, Ub, Shanghai and Cotai WOLFUNITED among the sides progressing to the knockout stage. FIBA’s opening-day report confirms the continuing link between the competition and the historic venue.

Visiting Ruins of St. Paul’s: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau 2026 is scheduled at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on 17 and 18 October 2026. The Greater Bay Area finals follow from 19 to 21 October 2026.
• The sports programme uses the historic site as its venue, while the façade and stairway remain the defining architectural features of the visit.
• The address is Company of Jesus Square in Macau. The landmark is on the Macau Peninsula, within the Historic Centre of Macao.
• The site includes a substantial staircase leading to the surviving façade, while the former college and church remains extend behind it.
• Macau uses Chinese and Portuguese as official languages, and the national currency is the Macanese pataca.

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Frequently asked questions about Ruins of St. Paul’s

When does the FIBA 3×3 World Tour take place at the Ruins of St. Paul’s?

The Macau stop takes place on 17 and 18 October 2026. The Greater Bay Area finals follow from 19 to 21 October 2026.

Where are the Ruins of St. Paul’s and how do you get there?

The site is at Company of Jesus Square on the Macau Peninsula, within the Historic Centre of Macao.

What are the Ruins of St. Paul’s?

They are the surviving façade and stairway of the Church of Mater Dei, together with remains of St. Paul’s College and the former religious complex destroyed by fire in 1835.

Press conference hosted by the organizers

Organized by the Sports Bureau and StarMac Entertainment Production Limited, and co-organized by the Macau-China Basketball Association and Chaiioi Sports Company Limited, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau 2026 and the “3×3 Greater Bay Area Tour 2026” Finals will be held this month. The organizers held a press conference today (October 12) to announce the event details.

Guests attending the press conference included Mr. Vong Ka Kun, Head of the Macau Grand Prix and Major Sporting Events Department of the Sports Bureau; Mr. Lou Kit Long, Chief Executive Officer of StarMac Entertainment Production Limited; and Mr. Wu Chong Fai, President of the Macau-China Basketball Association.

The FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau 2026 will be held from October 17 and 18 at the Ruins of St. Paul’s. The FIBA 3×3 World Tour is a top-tier event in the FIBA 3×3 competition system and has long attracted extensive attention from global media and the basketball world. This year’s World Tour season began in April, has been held in various cities, and will land in Macao in October.

The FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau 2026 will gather 16 top 3×3 basketball teams from around the world—including the current world number one Ub (Serbia); number three Amsterdam RABOBANK (the Netherlands); number ten Shanghai (China); and Cotai WOLFUNITED (Macao, China)—to compete for the championship and a total prize purse of up to USD185,000. The qualification stage will begin at 11:00 on October 17, with the group stage starting at 14:30; on October 18, the quarter-finals will start at 15:00, and the semi-finals and final will start at 18:00.

The “3×3 Greater Bay Area Tour 2026” Finals will follow from October 19 to 21. The Tour’s leg events and qualifiers were held from July to October in Foshan, Zhaoqing, Shenzhen, Hengqin, and Macao. The top three teams from each leg or qualifier, together with other men’s and women’s teams registered through open entry, will gather in Macao to compete for prizes and awards worth over MOP700,000. The women’s competition will be held on October 19 and 20, and the men’s competition on October 20 and 21; the group matches will be held simultaneously at the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, while the knockout rounds and finals will be held at the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

Both events offer free admission to residents and visitors, who can attend and experience the charm of 3×3 basketball.

To promote sports and cultural exchange among youngsters from different regions and showcase the youthfulness and vitality of 3×3 basketball, the “Stars of Tomorrow” Macau International 3×3 Children Basketball Game 2026 will also be held on October 17 and 18 at Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion and the Ruins of St. Paul’s. More than 20 teams from the Greater Bay Area in various age groups will compete, and the young players will watch the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau on site and interact closely with professional players.

Furthermore, in response to the Macao SAR Government’s “Tourism+” and “Sports+” industry integration policy and to create a new model linking major sports events with local neighborhood associations, commercial districts, food, and culture, the organizers will carry out diversified ancillary activities during the events. Together with nearly 20 merchants in the Ruins of St. Paul’s commercial district—including food and beverage, cultural and creative industries, and local brands—the organizers will set up basketball-themed games in stores and launch event-exclusive spending offers to attract spectators to the district and encourage spending. At the same time, in cooperation with the Women’s General Association of Macau, the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau, and the Macao Federation of Trade Unions, the organizers will open venues for association competitions and experience activities, sharing event resources and promoting sports exchange. In addition, the event will work with the cultural co-organizer, the Management Association of the Na Tcha at the Ruins of St. Paul’s, to arrange visits for international participants to the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the Historic Centre of Macao, and local museums, promoting cross-cultural exchange and showcasing Macao’s distinctive East-West cultural blend. It is hoped that the footfall generated by the international sporting event will boost consumption in the Ruins of St. Paul’s community, stimulate cultural tourism and the commercial district economy, and promote Macao’s sports tourism.

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