GUYANA’S Patrick Haynes is the lone West Indian on the newly-established FIBA 3×3 Commission, which recently held a one-day meeting at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball, FIBA Headquarters, which was the first for the new cycle of 2019-2023 and also the first for this new commission.
The 3×3 Commission is a newly-formed group not in place in the previous working cycle, and consists of 18 members who are former or current 3×3 players, officials, national federations’ representatives and private organisers.
Former NBA great Andrei Kirilenko from Russia will serve as the Chairman of the Commission and will have Uganda’s Ambrose Tashobya as his Deputy Chairman.
The commission held discussions on a wide range of topics which included an update on the growth of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and the entire FIBA 3×3 competition network, the qualification system for national team events, the FIBA 3×3 Federation Ranking and women in 3×3 – one of FIBA’s priority strategic pillars.
During their life cycle, the Commission will be tasked to develop recommendations for improvement to 3×3 governance and organisation and for the introduction of new official 3×3 competitions, to give advice on the allocation of official 3×3 competitions, to be responsible for training, examining and implementing the requested qualification of all 3×3 officials and to draw up the text of the FIBA 3×3 Basketball Rules, draft amendments to these rules for adoption by the Central Board, give the official interpretation of the rules and solve doubtful cases or cases not clearly covered by the rules themselves.
They will also be tasked to study the regulations governing all 3×3 competitions and to recommend changes to such regulations and to monitor the state of 3×3 around the world and to make recommendations for the development of 3×3.
Meanwhile, Kirilenko who played 10 seasons with Utah Jazz in the NBA, stated that he started his basketball career playing outside on the street with his friends, adding that “3×3 aligns with my life principles and I am very happy to be part of this commission and help to continue to grow and develop 3×3 around the world.
“I truly believe that 3×3 is the future of basketball and being involved in this commission takes me back to my youth and unites me with people who enjoy basketball. The game has improved in all aspects and 3×3 is now an Olympic discipline and I am excited to be part of this movement,” said Kirilenko.
Kirilenko, who also played with the Brooklyn Nets, called the Commission’s first meeting as “very productive, and this year is a very important year for 3×3, with its debut in Tokyo. Everyone at the table today was involved and brought important topics to the meeting, and these topics were discussed at length. I really look forward to the next four years and being part of 3×3 as it continues its journey.”
The meeting was also attended by FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis and FIBA Executive Director Europe, Kamil Novak.
The other members of the FIBA 3×3 Commission are Peter Bodnar (HUN), Lothar Boesing (GER), Jay Demings (USA), Jiang Guan (CHN), Patrick Haynes (GUY), Martin Ho Suie Sang (NED), Michal Konecny (CZE), Hoang Bao Nguyen (VIE), Jerome Prigent (FRA), Giancarlo Sergi (SUI), Myagmarjav Luvsandash (MGL), Radu Petre (ROU), Mikiko Yasuda (JPN), Rae Lin D’Alie (ITA), Jasmina Juras (SRB) and Michael Linklater (CAN).
