Complementing the teams qualified through continental tournaments to the World University League finals, six universities join the event as wildcard entries
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – In less than a week’s time, Xiamen will again become the world capital of University 3×3 Basketball as teams from all continents and all corners of the globe descend on this port city along China’s southeast coast for the 3×3 FISU World University League finals.
While 10 men’s and 10 women’s teams qualified through continental tournaments in Asia, America, Africa, Europe and Oceania, the 2016 finalists and host teams punched their tickets into the tournament. In addition, four wildcard teams on the men’s and women’s sides were chosen to play for the world No.1 title on the courts of Xiamen.
Day 3 of the League finals includes shoot-out and dunk competitions, a favourite of both the competitors and the crowd
Bringing together the top-16 men’s and women’s university 3×3 teams in the world to compete in the centre of university campus life was a key driving factor that FISU set out to achieve with the League and 3×3 basketball. Looking at the collection of talent ready to descend on Xiaman, the League looks to deliver the best basketball yet in its third edition of this tournament.
Without further ado, here’s a rundown of 2017 Finals wildcard teams. These likely outsiders needed a little luck to make it into the Xiamen event, but its going to take four days of stellar play for them to head home as champions of university 3×3 basketball.
Through the League, FISU aims to increase sports on campuses and help student athletes be both today’s stars and tomorrow’s leaders.
Payame Noor University is a public university system, and is one of the largest universities in both Iran and the world. While the university headquarters are in Tehran, there are 31 provincial centres and over 500 local study centres and other campuses around the country.
The university was established in 1988 under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. Presently, the university has over 4,000 academic members and 800,000 national and international students. The university’s 3×3 team made it to the 2016 League finals and won its group in the pool stage before losing 21-11 to University of Split (CRO) in the quarterfinals.
Srinakharinwirot University is a public university in Bangkok, founded in 1949 and named by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej after his mother. It is the first institution of higher education in Thailand to concentrate solely on teacher training. The university has two campuses, one in Bangkok and another in Nakhon Nayok Province, and counts over 25,000 current students. Srinakharinwirot offers courses and programs in areas such as Arts & Humanities, Business & Social Sciences, Language & Cultural Studies, Medicine & Health, Engineering and Science & Technology. This year mark’s the university’s first participation in the 3×3 League final.
Taylor’s University is a private university in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Founded in 1969 as a college and awarded university status in 2010, the institution offers courses in tertiary education, from foundation and diploma to degree, post-graduate and professional programmes. The institution is a member of the Taylor’s Education Group, which comprises various colleges and international schools throughout Malaysia and Singapore. The university has about 12,000 current students and will be making its League finals debut this year.
The road to the League finals includes plenty of stout competition
Takushoku University is a private Japanese university founded in 1900. Located in Tokyo with a main campus in the Bunkyō district and a satellite campus in Hachiōji city, the University has five main areas of study: Commerce, Political Science and Economics, Foreign Languages, International Studies, and Engineering. The university is particularly renowned for its national security, and counts notorious chancellors who were former ministers and prime ministers. This prominence of faculty also carries over into political science, economics and in sport; the university’s karate club has produced many notable karate instructors and competitors. Takushoku U will be making its first appearance in the League finals this year.
The University of Porto is the second-largest Portuguese university that first started educating students in 1911. The public university has one of the most noted research outputs in the country, and has over 30,000 students and 3,500 administrative and teaching staff. UPorto has 13 faculties, plus a biomedical sciences institute and a business school. The university has consistently ranked among the best Portuguese universities, among the top 100 universities in Europe and top 300 best in the world. In sports, the University has dominated the national university sports, consistently winning medals in all organised university sports. UPorto also shows its colours as a world-class event host, most notably with the 2014 WUC Beach Volleyball tournament, which was named by FISU as the “2014 Best World University Championship.” 2017 marks the first time UPorto will play in the League finals.
University of Physical Education Budapest was established in 1925 and is the oldest, largest and most comprehensive centre for physical education and activity, sports and related sciences in Hungary. The the sporting front, the university currently boasts over 2,400 students in its highest performance programs. The faculty and alumni work as leading members of boards for several national sport associations and serve as head coaches in the national leagues in various fields of sport. The University has a fully-enclosed campus with 16 sport facilities and laboratories, with a major ongoing reconstruction and expansion project to support the practice-oriented training programs.
Last year, the Lithuanian Sports University took the trophy on the women’s side. Can a wildcard entry win it all in 2017?
The Road to Xiamen 2017 will continue with the presentation of the qualified teams from Europe. The 3×3 FISU World University League – 2017 Finals will take place in Xiamen (China) from 14-17 September.