Hong Kong chiefs hope for bigger crowds at Fiba event as teams eye season finals

Local basketball chiefs are hoping for intense competition for places in next month’s global finals – and bigger crowds than last year – when the Fiba 3×3 Hong Kong Masters tips off on Saturday.

The city is the final stop on the calendar before the season-ending finals in Saudi Arabia, with plenty to play for at Victoria Park as teams vie for berths as well as US$130,000 (HK$1.017 million) in total prize money this weekend that includes US$40,000 for the winners.

An event official said details about ticket sales “will not be disclosed” but predicted a 40 per cent increase in attendance as the World Tour returns to Hong Kong after making its debut last November.

“It will probably reach 80 per cent for the whole event,” he said.

On the court, teams are battling to be the one remaining team who will qualify as of right as one of the 14 finalists in Jeddah on December 8 and 9. The 12 leading sides from the tour will be joined by a home representative and a wild-card team.

Paris, Hangzhou and Princeton will be looking to overhaul San Juan, whose fate is in the hands of the other three contenders.

Currently occupying the 12th finals spot, San Juan are not playing in the Hong Kong leg. Paris, who sit in 15th place, can overtake them if they reach the semi-finals this weekend.

There are outside chances for Hangzhou and Princeton, too. Ranked 16th on the tour, Hangzhou need to finish at least third in Hong Kong and better the result of Paris to make it, while Princeton, who are in 17th, must triumph this weekend to steal the last place in Jeddah from under the other teams’ noses.

The fate of either Hangzhou or Princeton will be determined early on, with both of them having found themselves in group A alongside tour leaders Ub Huishan NE, from Serbia. Two teams from each of the four pools will progress to the quarter-finals.

The Serbian side have a tour-leading 46 victories this season – a 79 per cent win rate – after triumphing in the first six of the 17 regular-season World Tour events, from the opener in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya to the sixth leg in Prague.

Paris have been drawn in group B with fourth-placed side Antwerp and a qualifier.

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Representing the host city are Wu Kai Sha, who avoided having to make a last-ditch roster change after guard Hyman Hui Huen-hang was cleared to play despite a neck injury sustained in training.

Tickets ranging from day passes at HK$100 to the most expensive Sunday pass at HK$680, which included a limited edition Octopus card, were available at HK Ticketing.