Serbia’s Ub, Dutch powerhouse Amsterdam RABOBANK and six other teams advanced to the knockout stage of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Macau after the opening day of competition at the city’s landmark Ruins of St. Paul’s, setting up Sunday’s quarter-finals in one of the key stops on the international circuit.

The two-day event, sanctioned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and organised by Macau’s Sports Bureau and StarMac Entertainment Production Limited, has brought together 16 elite teams competing for a share of a US$185,000 prize fund as well as valuable ranking points in the race towards the World Tour Finals and qualification pathways linked to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.

Following qualification and group-stage matches on Saturday, the teams progressing to the quarter-finals were Ub (Serbia), Amsterdam RABOBANK (Netherlands), Miami (United States), Skyliners (Germany), Shanghai (China), DeQing (China), Taipei WanBao (Chinese Taipei) and Cotai WOLFUNITED (Macao, China).

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are due to be played later on Sunday, alongside a shoot-out contest and dunk competition.

Held against the backdrop of one of Macau’s most recognisable heritage sites, the tournament forms part of the global FIBA 3×3 World Tour, the premier international circuit in the urban version of the sport that has grown rapidly since its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games.

MIES (Switzerland) – The FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2025 once again underlined its status as one of the most dynamic and globally connected sports properties, delivering exceptional results across digital, broadcast and brand performance metrics throughout the season.

World Tours, Challengers and Qualifiers, spanning 38 host cities in 22 territories, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour showcased elite 3×3 basketball action on a truly international scale, combining world-class competition with compelling digital storytelling that resonated with fans around the globe.

Unprecedented Global Distribution

The season featured pro events across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. The FIBA 3×3 World Tour’s broadcast footprint continued to expand in 2025, with coverage reaching over 200 territories via digital platforms and linear television. This wide distribution ensured that fans across multiple regions could follow the action live and on demand. It reinforced and showcased 3×3 basketball’s growing presence across both emerging and established sports markets.

One Billion Impressions

Across the 2025 season, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour generated more than one billion digital content views and exposures across social and digital platforms, reflecting the scale at which fans around the world encountered World Tour content throughout the year.

Combined with broadcast distribution across more than 200 territories, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour continued to reach audiences well beyond host cities, reinforcing its global visibility across both established and emerging markets.

Throughout the season, digital content focused on highlighting the speed, intensity and urban identity of 3×3 basketball, with an emphasis on short-form, platform-native storytelling designed to meet fans where they consume content most. Short-form video formats played a central role in showcasing key moments, player highlights and event atmosphere across social platforms.

Sustained Growth

FIBA 3×3’s digital ecosystem continued to grow steadily during the FIBA 3×3 World Tour season. Across social platforms, total followers increased from 7.3 million in 2024 to 10.0 million in 2025, representing a 37% percent year-on-year growth.

This sustained growth reflects the FIBA 3×3 World Tour’s ability not only to attract new audiences, but also to convert casual viewers into long-term followers through consistent storytelling, player-driven narratives and real-time engagement around events.

Scale and Consistency

Hosting events across 22 territories underlined the scale of the 2025 season. Each stop offered a unique cultural backdrop while maintaining the distinctive look, feel and energy that define the season.

From city centers to purpose-built urban venues, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour events continued to deliver premium live experiences for fans on-site while translating that atmosphere effectively to digital and broadcast audiences worldwide.

Elevating the World’s Best

Beyond the numbers, the World Tour remained the pinnacle of professional 3×3 basketball competition. It brought together the world’s top teams and players across a full season of elite-level action. The combination of intense rivalries, dramatic finishes and standout individual performances fueled both on-court excitement and off-court engagement.

Building Global Momentum

The continued success of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2025 reinforces the sport’s position as one of the most engaging and accessible formats in global basketball. The FIBA 3×3 World Tour continues to serve as a powerful engine for the sport’s global expansion.

As 3×3 basketball looks ahead to future seasons and the continued build-up toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the 3×3 World Tour’s strong performance across digital, broadcast and brand metrics provides a solid foundation for continued global visibility, fan engagement and storytelling evolution.

With one billion impressions, expanding broadcast reach and a growing global fanbase in 2025, the FIBA 3×3 World Tour has once again proven that the half-court game is thriving on the world stage, both on and off the court.

FIBA

MIES (Switzerland) – As an exciting new season prepares to burst into action, it promises to be another incredible year for FIBA’s 3×3 basketball having re-enforced its position as one of the most thrilling urban sports worldwide during 2025.

Connecting with fans across all continents and delivering ever increasing value for partners, hosts, broadcasters and stakeholders, FIBA’s 3×3 basketball events strengthened its presence at the intersection of sport, entertainment and youth culture.

The 2025 season featured 17 stops on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour, alongside 19 Challengers and 15 events on the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series, which continued its upward trajectory – reinforcing the commitment to elevate women’s basketball globally.

National team competitions remained as strong digital drivers, led by the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025, alongside continental and youth events. Meanwhile the inaugural FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup introduced a new elite competition to the annual 3×3 basketball calendar.

FIBA’s 3×3 basketball Managing Director, Alex Sanchez stated: “We are immensely proud to be able to reflect on 3×3 basketball’s best year so far and hitting unprecedented heights in these key metrics – something that highlights its ever-expanding reach. This clearly demonstrates how we continue to unlock the incredible potential of 3×3 basketball and deliver against our strategic objective of making 3×3 basketball the most thrilling urban sport in the world.

“Having recorded all-time high levels of engagement, broadcast coverage and record media value, we will now continue our journey of growth. We remain fully focused on expanding the global footprint of 3×3 basketball in 2026 and this is exciting news for players, fans, broadcasters, commercial partners, private promoters, National Federations and our other stakeholders.”

The new season 2026 will feature many highlights to look forward to throughout the 2026 calendar. These include the likes of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Poland during June, the latest FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series and the FIBA 3×3 World Tour which will culminate in the highly anticipated Final during December.

Media impact and sponsorship visibility proved to be the defining highlight of the season. During 2025, 3×3 basketball generated an estimated 220-290 million US dollars in total media value for sponsors, driven by social media exposure, earned media coverage and television visibility. The figures also served to underline the growing return on investment delivered by 3×3 basketball’s integrated media ecosystem.

Broadcast distribution also reached new highs, with 3×3 basketball securing partnerships that spanned all five continents. Competitions were aired across 234 territories worldwide, significantly expanding the discipline’s growing global footprint.

This was no better demonstrated than an eye-catching 48 percent increase in linear television coverage of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 compared to the 2023 edition – a new peak of 418 broadcast hours having also been attained.

Surging global fan engagement as 10 million followers landmark passed

FIBA’s 3×3 basketball digital ecosystem continued to drive global visibility and deliver outstanding growth in engagement levels. This was no better underlined than by FIBA’s 3×3 basketball global social community surpassing 10 million followers for the very first time, also representing a standout 20 percent growth, year-on-year.

Across all platforms in 2025, there were 1.5 billion impressions, 1.1 billion video views and 118 million engagements to further illustrate the scale and depth of fan interaction worldwide.

Noticeably, the audience profile remains distinctly young, with approximately 70 percent falling into the 13–34 years old age bracket, a figure that underpins the powerful connection 3×3 basketball has with next-generation fans.

For more on the 2026 competition calendar, click here.

FIBA