Singapore’s 3×3 basketball calendar gets another major boost this weekend, with the FIBA 3×3 Lion City Challenger currently taking place at *SCAPE on 20 and 21 June.
Entry is free for fans, who will have the chance to watch world-class 3×3 basketball up close while cheering on two home teams.
The FIBA 3×3 Challenger is a high-level event on the professional men’s circuit, where top club teams compete for places on the elite FIBA 3×3 World Tour. This weekend’s tournament will feature 16 teams from 13 countries, with the top three finishers earning spots at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Lausanne, one of the marquee stops on the global 3×3 calendar.
For Singapore, the event is also part of a bigger push to grow the sport.
Sport Singapore and FIBA recently announced an expanded multi-year partnership that will bring more international 3×3 basketball events to Singapore through 2031. From 2026 to 2031, Singapore will host two FIBA 3×3 Challenger events and one FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series event each year, while the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup will return from 2028 for another four-year run.
The move builds on Singapore’s recent run as a 3×3 host, having staged the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup from 2022 to 2026, the FIBA 3×3 Intercontinental Cup from 2023 to 2025 and the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier earlier this year. Singapore will also host the FIBA 3×3 World Cup next year.
Daryl Yeo, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Development) of SportSG, said basketball remains one of the most popular team sports in Singapore, with the country’s 3×3 athletes producing strong performances at recent competitions.
“Together with FIBA, we are thrilled to be bringing more world-class 3×3 basketball events to our shores,” he said. “These new events will provide our Team Singapore athletes competition opportunities to gain more experience against top class international counterparts and provide Singaporeans the opportunity to witness top-level basketball in our backyard.”
Singapore had two teams entered this weekend.
The Singapore team features Ching Zhen Yu, Xu Duanyang, Liam Blakney and Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Zahid, all of whom are SEA Games silver medallists. They were joined by the Lion City team of Eshan Kaul, Li Siyi, Jeremy Chew and Michael Kesevan Kankem.
Several of Singapore’s players have already been active on the Challenger circuit, but this weekend gives them a chance to compete at that level in front of a home crowd.
Lion City’s campaign ended in the qualifying draw on Saturday, after defeats by Shibuya and Zavkhan.
They opened the day with a 22-13 loss to Shibuya, before falling to Zavkhan 21-15 in their second qualifying match.
Singapore’s main team will begin their campaign later on Saturday against Antwerp at 5.15pm, before facing SEEF at 8.55pm.
The quarter-finals of the Lion City Challenger will be played on Sunday from 4.20pm, followed by the semi-finals at 6.30pm and 7pm. The final is scheduled for 8pm.
