Olympic champions back on track as Riga win FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Masters 2021

ABU DHABI (United Arab Emirates) - Riga (LAT) won their first Masters of 2021 after defeating Ub (SRB) (21-18) in the final of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Masters on October 29-30.

Last year's World Tour winners took home their first Masters of the season playing with the same roster that won gold in the Olympic Games in Tokyo three months ago. 

Riga got their revenge in a rematch of the Debrecen Masters and ended Ub's incredible 14-game winning streak on the World Tour. It was literally a team effort as every player on the squad scored between 5 and 6 points in the title game.

Riga star Karlis Lasmanis was named MVP of the event after leading the scoring charts in Abu Dhabi, tied with Strahinja Stojacic, who  brought Ub all the way to the final.

In the individual contests, David Carlos aka "Air David" (PHI) took home the Filipino Times Dunk Contest while the number one 3x3 player in the World, Dejan Majstorovic (Ub, SRB) won the Wilson Shoot-out Contest.

All the health and safety measures requested by local and national authorities and the Guidelines for the Return to Basketball, developed by the FIBA Medical Advisory Group (MAG), which were successfully introduced last season, were implemented once again.

ABU DHABI MASTERS STANDINGS

1. Riga (LAT)
2. Ub (SRB)
3. Antwerp (BEL)
4. Liman (SRB)
5. Amsterdam Talent & Pro (NED)
6. Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy (MGL)
7. Gagarin (RUS)
8. Princeton (USA)
9. Jeddah (KSA)
10. San Juan PCI Group (PUR)
11. Manila Chooks TM (PHI)
12. Utrecht (NED)
13: Minakami (JPN)
14. Abu Dhabi (UAE)

The seventh and last FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters of the season will take place in Mexico City on November 6-7 before we head to Jeddah (KSA) for the World Tour Final on December 17-18.

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Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 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 since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour and national-team FIBA 3x3 World & Continental Cups.

On July 24, 2021, 3x3 made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games.

Wilson is the Global Ball and Apparel Partner and Tissot the Official Timekeeper of FIBA 3x3.

FIBA 3x3 events are played on Enlio floors with Wilson balls, Schelde backstops, and the Magic Sky canopy system.

For further information about 3x3, visit fiba3x3.basketball, FIBA 3x3 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Tencent, TikTok, Twitter, Youku , YouTube and Twitch or contact 3x3@fiba.basketball.