Everything you need to know before FIBA 3x3 World Tour Cebu Masters 2022

CEBU (Philippines) - The first ever Cebu Masters on October 1-2 is set to explode as the FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2022 returns to the Philippines with the business end of the season approaching. 

Let's have a comprehensive look at the eighth event of the season. 

Where can I watch the Cebu Masters?

The action runs from October 1-2, and you can follow it live on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube, Facebook, Sina  Weibo and Douyin pages.

Who is competing in Cebu?

Seven of the top 15 teams in the world rankings and a total of 14 squads: Antwerp, Riga,  Amsterdam HiPRO, Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy, Lausanne Sport, Jeddah, Sansar MMC Energy, Omaha 3Ball, Cebu Chooks, Utsunomiya BREX, Saitama ALPHAS, Manila Chooks, Doha QSC, Ludhiani INBL 

What are the pools?

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Who are the favorites?

It's tight at the top but we have to start with 3x3 greats Riga (LAT) who are reunited and back collecting Ws after victory in Montreal. Life wasn't easy without superstar Karlis Lasmanis but his return has brought together four Olympic gold medalists who love nothing more than playing with one another and collecting trophies.

 

The Latvians will be tough to beat, but they may have to get through No.1 seed Antwerp (BEL) who have their World Tour monkey off the back after winning in Debrecen but fell well short in Utrecht.

The Belgians are hoping for a change in fortune in the Philippines having struggled in Manila with a shock Day One exit but you would expect them to make amends in a bid to show the loud Filipino fans what they are made of. 

No.3 seed Amsterdam HiPRO (NED) deserve to be listed as a favorite because these flying Dutchmen are always making deep runs.

They will be extra motivated after struggling to fire in Utrecht, the first-ever World Tour event in the Netherlands. Perhaps they got caught up in the hype and the pressure became too much, but a more relaxed Amsterdam will be dangerous for opponents.  

In  Cebu there will be quite a few teams believing they can go all the way. In other words, there are a number of teams maybe just below the elite tier of the top three but you would not be shocked if they won it all. 

Namely, rising American team Omaha 3Ball (USA), Mongolian teams Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy and Sansar MMC Energy who both like playing in the Philippines and should benefit from the less crazy travel journey from home compared to what they are used to. Jeddah (KSA) and Lausanne Sport (SUI) also come to mind.

But if you want dark horses then we will give you a couple of home heroes. Cebu Chooks and Manila Chooks will of course have insane fan support and that could well fuel a giant-killing run though Manila have to get through qualifying first.

Expect the unexpected in Cebu.

 

Who are the best players?

There are a few contenders in Cebu, with several being absolutely lights out on the World Tour so far, but we have to start with the dude who has been doing it for a long time  -Karlis Lasmanis who returned to 3x3 by collecting the MVP in Montreal

Lasmanis aka 'Batman' is back on his favorite half-court and his return also makes sidekick Nauris Miezis even more dangerous with 'Robin' able to shift gears depending on the situation. 

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Thibaut Vervoort aka 'Must See TV' has been threatening to take the crown of Lasmanis, who was widely seen as 3x3's best player after 2021 in a dominant year where he stole the show at the Tokyo Olympics. 

The 24-year-old Belgian is one of the few players in the world capable of going toe-to-toe with Lasmanis with his mix of size, speed and skill. 

Dimeo van der Horst from Amsterdam also can cook and this dude has been angrier than Gordon Ramsay with insane scoring binges this season, where he tops the averages at an incredible 7.5ppg. 

There have been thunderstorms around Cebu ahead of the event and it might continue to be wet when Sansar's Anand Ariunbold gets going while Ulaanbaatar's Steve Sir has hopefully packed an umbrella because no one splashes more from deep than this legendary sniper. 

In terms of human highlight reels, oh we've got a few of the very best. Omaha's Malik Hluchoweckyj, Lausanne's Giles Martin and Saitama's Tomoya Ochiai will do things you can't believe are possible with the Wilson. 

While out to prove he's the best magician of them all, hometown hero Mark Tallo will be aiming to top his flat out show-stopping performance in Manila. 

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FIBA 

Wilson sponsor logo - WT Cebu 2022
  • ML sponsor logo - WT Cebu 2022
  • Chooks Sponsor logo - WT Cebu 2022