BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN Olympic Committee (BOC) vice-president and Manama Masters organising committee chairman Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa stressed yesterday the importance of concerted efforts to ensure the success of the Fiba 3×3 World Tour event, which will be held in the kingdom for the fourth consecutive year this November 20 and 21.

The premier street basketball competition is to be played under the guidance of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority (GSA) chairman, and BOC president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Isa chaired an organising committee meeting, attended by Bahrain Basketball Association president Eng Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, GSA CEO Dr Abdulrahman Askar, BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji, and representatives of the various entities concerned with putting the event together.

Shaikh Isa highlighted the necessity of following up on all organisational, technical, and media preparations for the Manama Masters in order to ensure a distinguished hosting that reflects the status of the kingdom and its ability to stage major international sporting events.

The meeting also reviewed all work plans and arrangements related to hosting the Fiba 3×3 World Tour, including logistical and marketing matters, coordination mechanisms between relevant parties, as well as the programmes accompanying play off the court.

Ways to enhance the promotion of the tournament and to leverage the presence of teams, players, and fans were also discussed, with the aim of showcasing Bahrain’s rich tourism and sports potential, in addition to providing an integrated experience for visitors and participants.

This year’s Manama Masters will be held at The Avenues Mall Bahrain. It will be the third edition of the top-tier event, with previous competitions being held in 2023 and 2024, while last year, Bahrain hosted the Fiba 3×3 World Tour Final for the first time.

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.”

Mizzou assistant coach Tavaras Hardy and recent-transfer CJ Gunn opened the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup with a split Wednesday in Wuhan, China.

Hardy is serving as the head coach for the United States, while Gunn, who recently enrolled at Missouri, is competing for the U.S. alongside Eric Dailey Jr., Alex Fudge and Mark Armstrong.

The United States opened Pool D play with a 21-14 victory over Argentina before suffering a 21-14 loss to the Republic of Korea.

Gunn made an immediate impact in the opening game against Argentina, scoring six points on 3-of-6 shooting from 2-point range. He added four rebounds and three blocks, finishing with a team-best 9.2 player value rating.

His three 2-point makes accounted for half of the United States’ six successful 2-point shots as the Americans pulled away for their first win of the tournament.

Gunn struggled to find the same rhythm against Korea, scoring three points while adding three rebounds and one block. He shot 1-for-2 on 1-point attempts and 1-for-8 from 2-point range as Korea reached 21 points before the United States could respond.

The split gives the United States a 1-1 record heading into its final two pool-play games Friday. The Americans will face China and Lithuania on Sept. 18 with a spot in the knockout stage on the line.

For Gunn, the tournament offers an early opportunity to compete internationally before making his way to Missouri. The former Indiana and DePaul guard is reportedly set to transfer to MU, but has not yet been added to the Tigers’ official roster.

For Hardy, the tournament provides another coaching opportunity on the international stage as he prepares for his first season on Dennis Gates’ staff.

The U.S. will close pool play early Friday morning with games against China and Lithuania. Those games will be live on the FIBA 3×3 YouTube.

PHOENIX (AP) — Jimmer Fredette’s return to the court was a winning one.

Fredette was named MVP of the FIBA 3×3 Phoenix Challenger on Sunday night, scoring eight points in the final to lead Team Miami to a 22-16 win over Amsterdam for the title. Team Miami went 5-0 in the two-day tournament.

Fredette and USA Basketball announced last week that he was stepping down from his role as managing director of the men’s 3×3 program and coming out of retirement as a player after more than two years away from the game.

Riley Battin had a team-high 38 points for Team Miami in the tournament, while Fredette had 27, Parrott had 24 and Henry Caruso scored 17.

Team Miami now heads to the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Deqing this coming weekend in China.

Fredette was the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year after averaging a nation-leading 28.9 points per game as a senior at BYU, became an NBA lottery pick, spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, played internationally in Europe and Asia and twice scored at least 70 points in games while in China.

He then turned his attention to 3×3 and was part of the U.S. team that played in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fredette got hurt during that tournament and wound up retiring several months later, though now has eyes on potentially playing in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Oregon guard Katie Fiso has been selected to the 2026 USA 3×3 Women’s U23 National Team that will compete at the 2026 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup from Sept. 15-19 in Wuhan, China.

Fiso will join three other Division I athletes in McKinna Brackens from Arizona State, Dani Carnegie from Georgia and Tori McKinney from Minnesota. The quartet won the 2026 FIBA 3×3 Nations League Americas North Conference in Ñuñoa, Chile in July and will reunite under head coach Todd Monsey.

In May, Fiso participated in USA Basketball’s 3×3 Developmental camp in Phoenix and the subsequent USA Basketball 3X Showcase in Mesa, Arizona. Fiso and teammates Carnegie and McKinney took home the 3X Showcase title. Fiso was also part of USA’s gold-medal winning team at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U18 Women’s World Cup.

Fiso is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in which she led the Ducks with 15.5 points and 6.2 assists per game, earning her second-team all-Big Ten honors. The Seattle product handed out 222 assists last season, the fourth-highest total in a single season in UO history. She produced a Big Ten-best seven points-assists double-doubles.

The USA women will begin play in Pool D on Sept. 16 against Japan at 12:50 a.m. PT, followed by a matchup with Kenya at 5:50 a.m. PT. Pool play will continue Sept. 18 against Slovenia at 2:30 a.m. PT and Australia at 5:25 a.m. PT.

The top two teams from each of the four five-team pools will move on to the quarterfinals on Sept. 19.

Brett Taylor joined the KEZI 9 News team as a sports anchor and reporter in June of 2023. If you have a story idea, you can email Brett at btaylor@kezi.com.

WARSAW, Poland — Former Parkway Panthers and current LSU Tigers star Mikaylah Williams helped Team USA win gold at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Poland, Sunday.

This is the women’s fourth gold medal in the competition as they beat Australia, 21-20, in the final.

Williams took home the tournament MVP after hitting the game-winning shot in the gold medal game and led Team USA in points per game (6.6).

Fellow LSU teammate Milaysia Fulwiley led the team with nine points in the final.

BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s under-23 women’s 3×3 basketball national team took an impressive second place yesterday in the fifth and penultimate stop of the Asia West/Pacific conference in the Fiba 3×3 Youth Nations League 2026, currently being played in Singapore.

The Bahrainis, playing with the quartet of Bayan Salman, Polina Sviatskaya, JaMya Robinson, and Noor Najaf, won both their games in Pool A of the preliminary round against Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but then bowed yet again to continental powerhouses Australia in their final.

The nationals were runners-up for the third time in the five stops held so far, and they came away with 80 points for their conference standing, rising back to second place behind only the undefeated Australians after dropping to third the day prior.

Following an exciting full week’s programme in Singapore, action concludes today with the sixth and final stop in this Asia West/Pacific conference of this year’s Fiba 3×3 Youth Nations League.

Teams have been vying for points in each of the events in their bids to qualify for the Fiba 3×3 U23 World Cup, which is to be held in Hubei, China, from September 15 to 19.

Australia’s women and men are in the driver’s seat to book their berths in the worlds.

Also yesterday, Bahrain’s under-23 men’s 3×3 basketball national team split their two Pool A contests, coming up just short in their quest to secure a place in their final.

Hitting the half-court were Naser Alanzoor, Mohammed Alanzi, Mishal Buhamood, and Hamad Faisal.

They opened the stop with a win against Qatar but then lost to Saudi in their follow-up assignment.

They thus came away with 60 points for their conference rankings, where they remained fifth overall from the six participating nations heading into today’s finale.

Bahrain’s women were dominant in their opening contest yesterday against their counterparts from Qatar, who they routed 22-4 in a masterful display.

Sviatskaya spearheaded the nationals with nine points, while Salman added six, Najaf had four, and Robinson finished with three.

In their next outing, the Bahrainis were just as aggressive, beating Saudi 21-7 to complete their group schedule undefeated.

Salman had a team-high eight points, while Najaf contributed six, Sviatskaya four, and Robinson three.

Their winning run was halted, however, in a brave effort in the women’s final.

There, they lost 14-21 to Australia, who had also beaten them the other two times they advanced to the decider.

Salman scored nine points to pace Bahrain in the defeat, while Robinson chipped in with three and Sviatskaya two.

On the distaff, Bahrain’s men got their day underway on a high note yesterday, edging past Qatar 21-19 with a game-winner from Alanzi.

He put in an impressive 11-point effort for the nationals, while Alanzoor and Faisal added four apiece and Buhamood scored two points.

But the Bahrainis then lost their next game 17-22 to Saudi in another closely fought affair.

Alanzoor finished with seven points, Faisal had six, and both Alanzi and Buhamood finished with two.

Saudi won the men’s event after beating Singapore 16-10.

It was the only time all conference that Australia did not make it into a stop’s final game, having lost to the host Singaporeans 17-21 in a Pool B clash yesterday.

patrick@gdnmedia.bh