2017 CBA 3X3 League tips off in Beijing

The opening ceremony of 2017 CBA 3x3 League was hosted in Beijing on July 23, announcing that the new season will begin on July 29 while the final will take place in October in Shanghai. Adopting FIBA’s 3X3 rule, the CBA‘s 3X3 League will be jointly organized by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and Nike China.

This will be the 3rd edition of the CBA 3X3 League. From July 29 onwards, the qualification games will take place in 30 provinces, which were divided into 6 divisions – Northern China, Northeast China, Eastern China, Central China, South China and Western China. Qualified teams will continue to compete in the divisional games and the top 2 grassroots teams from each division will compete with 16 professional men’s teams and 8 professional women’s teams. Both men's and women‘s teams will be divided separately into 2 groups – Junior (under 17 years) and Open (17-45 years). The men’s champions will get  access to compete in FIBA’s important events. 

CBA Chairman Yao Ming stated at the ceremony that, as 3X3 basketball has become an official event of Tokyo 2022, the sport has embraced this groundbreaking opportunity. The CBA 3x3 League will involve more grassroot teams increasing participation and improving the quality of the league which will result in developing more elite 3x3 basketball players. 

Source: 163.com, zuciwang.com

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick