10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… x… 3.
Count it down like the MC of 3×3, Knowa Lazarus does, armed with more similes than one of these articles. FIBA’s street ball game is a half-court cultural revolution that’s here to stay, especially in Japan.
Hosting the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers last year wasn’t the beginning. Utsunomiya in Tochigi, Japan has been a key location for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour for years and continues to host events throughout the calendar. Tochigi is a prefecture about an hour by train from Tokyo, and its Futaarayama Shrine provides a stunning backdrop for some of the most beautiful street basketball you’ll see.
With a gigantic gold torii gate behind the basket, you couldn’t ask for a better backdrop. Nor could there be a more glorious game, with fans sitting on the 95 stone steps that lead to the shrine, naturally leaving space for the local Japanese to ascend the stairs to pray.
Just a short walk from Utsunomiya Station’s legendary Light Cube arena, which also hosts many a 3×3 tournament and a junior cup on a nearby court, this city is famous for its gyoza and being a hoop hotbed.
Though the cherry blossoms of this season may have fallen, the shots kept going up last weekend as the ‘Utsunomiya Opener’ (April 25–27) felt like an All-Star weekend. BasketballBuzz was there to take in the action of the final day.
Following the new Champion Cup in Bangkok a month ago, this wasn’t just another day at the Rucker, as $40,000 and bragging rights were on the line for the winner.
The winner was a Miami team representing the US, featuring Dylan Travis, James Parrott, Henry Caruso, and tournament MVP Mitch Hahn, who had a team-high 30 points throughout the tournament.
At least they didn’t have to take their winnings to the local currency exchange.
They beat the Amsterdam RABOBANK team from the Netherlands, led by the charismatic Worthy de Jong and his Dennis Rodman–like hair. They also knocked off world number one UB of Serbia and their star, Strahinja Stojacic, better known as Doctor Strange to those who still have a hard time spelling the name of the Greek Freak.
Like an ASG, there were events to keep you entertained all day as DJ Lass and You Matsuzaki spun the wheels of steel. As a matter of fact, from midday to just before six, I didn’t even leave my spot for a bite or a bathroom break. No load management here.
Hugo Suhard of Toulouse, France (recently renamed after Paris) did not lose the Wilson shoot-out contest. Meanwhile, Chinese sensation Dengxing “Dunk King” Chen won the Ashikaga Bank Dunk Contest after jumping over almost everybody.
Yet, the sweetest moments of the event were when fans in the stands got to perform their own trick shots. Seeing a kid show his dad how it was done with a long-range bucket brought tears of joy to the crowd.
The NBA might be basketball’s bread and butter, but 3×3 is serving notice that the streets still rule the courts. After becoming an Olympic sport in Japan during Tokyo 2020, its worldwide reach is trotting across the globe like Harlem.
Basketball was born on concrete, and now it’s blooming like a rose… or a cherry blossom during Sakura season.
