Writing and photographs by Dean Andrews

The Australian women’s Gangurrus team of Anneli Maley, Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild), Marena Whittle and Ally Wilson started FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia brilliantly to win their first two Pool A games on the first day of competition. FIBA 3×3 World Cup is being held for the ninth time and the 2025 WC edition being held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from Monday 23 June to Sunday 29 June is the seventh time that an Australian women’s team have competed at the tournament. The Australian women’s team’s best result at the tournament is winning the bronze medal twice, at the inaugural FIBA 3×3 World Cup held in Athens, Greece in 2012 and at the most recent 3×3 WC held in Vienna, Austria in 2023. A trio of members from the current Gangurrus team – Maley, Whittle and Wilson were members of Australia’s bronze medal winning team at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 held in Vienna, Austria. The only member of the Gangurrus 3×3 WC 2023 team that isn’t competing this week is Lauren Mansfield. Guard Miela Sowah has made her  3×3 World Cup debut in Ulaanbaatar.

Being seeded 16^th out of 20 teams at an international tournament as the Australian Gangurrus Women’s team are at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 would generally indicate that this team was a longshot to make it through to the medal games on the final day of competition. The Australian Gangurrus are the exception to the rule and consistently out perform their seeding at international tournaments. The Gangurrus won three consecutive FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup’s in Singapore from 2023 to 2025, won the bronze medal at World Cup 2023 and finished fifth in the 3×3 tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Last week the Australian Gangurrus Women’s team of Maley, Sowah, Whittle and Wilson won FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Ulaanbaatar Stop 2025. At FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Australian Gangurrus defeated two higher seeded opponents on day 1 of competition, defeating number one seeds China 21-12 and number eight seeds Poland 21-18. The Australian women’s Gangurrus team play their remaining two Pool A games against Madagascar and Italy on Wednesday 25 June and are well placed to progress to the quarter finals on Saturday 28 June. The four teams that win the quarter finals will play the matches for medals on the seventh and final day of competition at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 on Sunday 29 June.

The article below covers:

• 3×3 basketball rules
• The history of 3×3 basketball
• The FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 tournament in general
• History of the Australian women’s 3×3 team
• The history of women’s basketball at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup

3×3 basketball rules

Most of the rules for 3×3 basketball and the traditional five on five format of the sport are the same however there are some important modifications for 3×3 basketball which is played in a basketball half-court. In 3×3 each team has three players on the court and one substitute. A substitution can be made in a dead-ball situation. The playing time for each 3×3 game is 10 minutes, the game concludes at the earlier of a team scoring 21 points or the 10 minutes expiring. If scores are tied at the end of the 10 minutes the first team to score two points in overtime wins the game. When the defensive team gains possession they need to take the basketball past the arc before attempting a shot. At most 3×3 tournaments each team is allowed one time-out and at many tournaments TV time-outs are also called. The shot clock is 12 seconds. A made free throw in both 3×3 and the traditional five on five format of the sport scores one point however a different scoring system is used for shots in general play. In 3×3 a field goal made inside the arc scores 1 point and a successful shot from behind the arc earns 2 points. If a jump ball is called by the referee in general play the defensive team gains possession. Whilst fouls are called in 3×3 basketball referees are more lenient than in 5 on 5 basketball which results in 3×3 being a more physical format of the sport. When a team commits a Team foul 7 they are in the penalty, resulting in the opposing team having two free throws for team fouls 7, 8 and 9. When a team commits their 10^th foul they are in the double penalty, resulting in the opposing team having two free throws and possession of the ball.

A brief history of 3×3 basketball

The 3×3 basketball page of Olympics.com states “Considered to be the number one urban sport in the world, 3X3 basketball has its roots in street basketball—a creative variation of the indoor game with a less formal structure. Evolving from outdoor courts to the Olympic Games, 3X3 basketball has been structured over the years by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the governing body responsible for developing basketball.”1 

An official 3×3 event was held for the first time at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. Typically there are two events held at each 3×3 tournament, a men’s event and a women’s event, however some tournaments have also included a mixed event where each team is comprised of two men and two women. In 2011 a FIBA 3×3 Under 18 World Cup was held in Rimini, Italy. The first senior 3×3 World Cup was held in Athens in 2012. In addition to World Cup’s the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) also holds regional 3×3 events including Asia Cup, Europe Cup and AmeriCup.

The FIBA 3×3 World Cup is being held for the ninth time in 2025, having been held previously in  2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Only one nation has won the women’s 3×3 World Cup multiple times, the United States of America – having won gold three times, the first two editions of the event in 2012 and 2014 as well as the most recent WC in 2023. Australia have won two medals in the women’s 3×3 World Cup, bronze medals in 2012 and 2023. Serbia have dominated the men’s 3×3 World Cup to win the gold medal six times – 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games the newer 3×3 format of basketball was included on the program in addition to the traditional five on five format of basketball. The United States of America won the gold medal in women’s 3×3 basketball at the 2020 Olympics and Latvia won the men’s event. At the Paris 2024 tournament there were two new Olympic champions with Germany winning the women’s event and the Netherlands winning the men’s gold.

3×3 basketball was played at the Commonwealth Games for the first time at Birmingham in 2022. Canada won the gold medal in the women’s tournament and England won gold in the men’s event. The Australian men won a silver medal and the Australian women won bronze in Birmingham.

The FIBA 3×3 World Tour commenced in 2012 with Men’s 3×3 teams competing at stops around the world. The first ever FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series was held in 2019 and is in it’s sixth edition in 2025. The Women’s Series has been held annually since its inception apart from 2020 when it wasn’t held due to COVID.  

Venue, Pools and nations competing in Women’s 3×3 Basketball at the World Cup 2025

The venue for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 is Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, the Capital city of Mongolia. At the FIBA 3×3 WC 2025 being held from Monday23 June to Sunday 29 June (Mongolian time) three events are being held, a men’s 3×3 tournament, a women’s 3×3 tournament and a dunk contest. In the week before the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025, Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar hosted two 3×3 tournaments. The Ulaanbaatar Stop for the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series on 18-19 June and the Ulaanbaatar Stop for the men’s World Tour on 20-21 June.

The 20 nations competing in each 3×3 tournament at FIBA 3×3 WC 2025 have been split into four pools of five nations. From Monday 23 to Thursday 26 June each nation plays the other four nations in their pool. The women’s nations in Pool A and Pool C and the men’s nations in Pool B and Pool D   play two matches on Monday23 June and two matches on Wednesday 25 June, local time in Ulaanbaatar. The women’s nations in Pool B and Pool D and the men’s nations in Pool A and Pool C  play two matches on Tuesday 24 June and two matches on Thursday 26 June. On all four days of Pool play the first 3×3 game starts at 11.00am Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia time which is 1.00pm Australian Eastern Standard Time and the last game commences at 8.15pm Ulaanbaatar, 10.15pm AEST.

At the end of the pool phase of the two 3×3 tournaments the nation that finishes first in each pool qualifies directly to the quarter finals and the nations that finish fourth and fifth in each pool are eliminated from the tournament. The nations that finish second in each pool will have a last 16 game on Friday 27 June against a nation that finished third in another pool. The last 16 games for both the men’s and women’s tournaments are:

2^nd from Pool A vs 3^rd from Pool D

2^nd from Pool D vs 3^rd from Pool A

2^nd from Pool C vs 3^rd from Pool B

2^nd from Pool B vs 3^rd from Pool C

Dunk test qualification will be held on Friday 27 June at 7.50 pm Ulaanbaatar time and the dunk contest final will be held on Saturday 28 June at 6.50pm. 

The winners of the last 16 games on the fifth day of competition advance to the quarter finals on the following day, Saturday 28 June where they will play a nation that finished first in a Pool. Teams that are defeated in a quarter final are eliminated from the tournament.

On the seventh and final day of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025on Sunday 29 June each of the nations that won a quarter final the previous day will have two opportunities to guarantee themselves of leaving Ulaanbaatar with a medal. The two semi final winners in each tournament will progress to play against each other in the final whilst the nations that are defeated in a semi final will battle it out against each other in the third place game.

An article titled ‘Things you might not know about FIBA3x3 World Cup 2025’ and published on fiba3x3.com on 19 June stated “Every game is available live and free on YouTube although some geo restrictions might apply, with the event broadcast on television in some locations.”2 In Australia the FIBA3x3 World Cup 2025 is being broadcast on Fox Sports Australia and Kayo.

Australian Gangurrus women’s 3×3 team for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

Games played are as at 22 June 2025.

Player                                   Number                             Position             Games played

Anneli Maley                          24                                      Forward                         138

Miela Sowah                          1                                       Guard                                 35

Marena Whittle                    21                                      Guard/forward              151

Ally Wilson                               4                                       Guard                                71

Head Coach – Damon Lowery

The games played listed above are as per the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 player page and includes international 3×3 games for Australia as well as domestic 3×3 games. A link to fiba3x3 full player profile page for each member of the Australian Gangurrus quartet at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 is provided below:

Anneli Maley                 https://play.fiba3x3.com/players/a5a6bbf0-a76c-4169-8c79-fffeade17a34

Miela Sowah               https://play.fiba3x3.com/players/8b96a813-ad01-46cf-aef5-9aa1183052ba

Marena Whittle         https://play.fiba3x3.com/players/ca2a5d9d-6705-4776-8c7c-296ef1d96c0a

Ally Wilson                    https://play.fiba3x3.com/players/c98e05f5-e252-4a21-8255-66fe0f162ebe

These pages cover about, activity and ranking information on the player.

The Australian Gangurrus women’s team for the 3×3 tournament at the 2025 FIBA World Cup is comprised of guards Ally Wilson and Miela Sowah along with guard/forward Marena Whittle and forward Anneli Maley. This quartet had success representing the Gangurrus earlier this year, winning the gold medal at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025, the third consecutive time that the Australian women’s team had won this tournament. Three members of Gangurrus WC 2025 team – Maley, Whittle and Wilson played in the Australia’s back-to-back gold medals at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 and 2024 and were members of the bronze medal winning team at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. In the week before FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Gangurrus quartet of Maley, Sowah, Whittle and Wilson won the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Ulaanbaatar Stop.

During the 2017/18 WNBL season Whittle and Sowah were teammates at Townsville Fire. Development player Sowah played two games and main roster player Whittle was unable to play a game for the Fire due to a knee injury. Maley and Wilson were teammates playing for Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. The Australian Gangurrus women’s quartet for FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 boasts 549 games of WNBL experience between them comprised as follows, Wilson 248 games, Maley 135 games, Whittle 95 games and Sowah 71 games.

Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild) shooting a three-pointer for Perth Lynx in their road game Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 1 December 2024

The Australian 3×3 women’s team for FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 includes three players Maley, Sowah and Wilson who were starters on the Perth Lynx team that made the 2024/25 WNBL Finals. This trio all averaged at least 12.0 points per game for Perth in 2024/25, played all 23 games including finals and were the Lynx’s top three players for minutes played. This Perth Lynx trio all earnt All-WNBL selection with Wilson being selected in the All-WNBL First Team and Maley and Sowah being named in the second team. During the 2024/25 regular season Maley ranked second in the league with 12.1 rebounds per game and Wilson ranked sixth with 4.5 assists per game and Sowah ranked equal sixth with 2.0 three-pointers made per game. Wilson and Maley each averaged more than 1.5 three-pointers per game to rank in the WNBL’s top 20 in this category. Sowah ranked seventh in the league with 15.4 points per game and Wilson was equal 10^th in this category with 14.6 points per game.

Australian Gangurrus teammates Ally Wilson and Anneli Maley post-game after playing for Perth Lynx in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

After the Gangurrus team for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 was announced on 21 March Sowah commented on being able to draw on the experience of playing for Perth Lynx with Gangurrus teammates Maley and Wilson, telling Basketball Australia “We know how each other plays, and we’ve gone through highs and lows together this season. That has not only strengthened our friendship and chemistry on court but also grown us as individual players. I think that is something we can draw on and bring forth to the team.”3

The Australian Gangurrus women’s quartet for FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 boasts 549 games of WNBL experience between them comprised as follows, Wilson 248 games, Maley 135 games, Whittle 95 games and Sowah 71 games. Playing for Bendigo Spirit in 2021/22 Maley won the Suzy Batkovic Medal (League MVP), and won the leading rebounder award and leading scorer award, it was Maley’s second consecutive leading rebounder award, having also won this award playing for the Sydney Flames in the 2020 hub season. In the last two Australian summers Whittle has played in Europe during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, mainly representing Spanish club Movistar Estudiantes during this time.

Ally Wilson making a lay up for Perth Lynx in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

Three members of the Gangurrus FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 team have played with a team in NBL1 West during the 2025 NBL1 West season, Maley (Perth Redbacks), Whittle (Rockingham Flames) and Wilson (Mandurah Magic). Maley leads NBL1 West with 19.9 rebounds per game and ranks third in the conference with 23.5 points per game, just ahead of Whittle in fourth place with 23.4 points per game. Wilson has been effective from long range to average 3.7 three-pointers made per game – ranked third in NBL1 West. Sowah has starred in four games for the Brisbane Capitals to average 37.0 points and 4.5 three-pointers made per game to lead NBL1 North in both categories and ranks second with 3.0 steals.    

Maley was a member of the Australian Opals bronze medal winning team at World Cup 2022 held on home soil in Sydney. On 23 May 2025 Sowah and Wilson were both selected in the Australian Opals team for FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025 to be held in Shenzen China from July 13 to 20.

Anneli Maley playing for Bendigo Spirit against the Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 6 January 2023

After winning FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Ulaanbaatar Stop 2025 last week all four members of the Gangurrus women’s team were in the top 20 on the women’s world 3×3 rankings as at 21 June 2025, however in the 23 June 2025 rankings only two Australians remained in the top 20 with Sowah 14^th and Maley 17^th. Whittle and Wilson are both in the top 40 being ranked 26^th and 34^th respectively.

After the Gangurrus team of Maley, Sowah, Whittle and Wilson was named for FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 Head Coach Lowery commented to Basketball Australia “3×3 is ferocious. It exposes both your strengths and your mental cracks, and I like to see what players are made of once those cracks are exposed. We need athletes who can play a dynamic, relentless brand of basketball, and who can stay composed when the pressure hits. Cohesion is critical. You don’t get time to ‘figure it out’ during games. These three have been building the Gangurrus name for years, and they still have the hunger.”4 On the newest member of the Gangurrus team, Miela Sowah, Lowery commented “Anybody who knows Miela, knows she’s the highest of high energy, and she’s a bucket. The girl can flat-out score. Great attitude, great teammate, and she’s had a lot of reps lately.”5

Pool and schedule for the Australian women’s Gangurrus team at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

The Australian women’s Gangurrus team are in Pool A at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 and are seeded 16^th out of the 20 nations competing.

Women’s Pool A at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

China (number 1 seed)

Poland (8)

Italy (9)

Australia (16)

Madagascar (20)

Pool A schedule for Gangurrus women’s team at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

Monday, June 23

China 12 lost to  Australia 21        

Australia 21 defeated Poland  18

Wednesday, June 25

Australia vs Madagascar   11.00am Ulaanbaatar time,       1.00pm AEST*

Italy vs Australia                   12.40pm  Ulaanbaatar time,     2.40pm AEST*

* Australian Eastern Standard Time

China’s number 1 seeded team in Ulaanbaatar at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 is comprised of Wenxia Li, Hengyu Yang, Wanglai Zhang and Mengyun Zhou. Two members of China’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 team – Zhou and Li were members of the team that won the bronze medal at FIBA 3×3 Asia 2025. Australia and China have been regular foes in women’s 3×3 tournaments, particularly at the Asia Cup. In a semi final at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 China suffered a 15-21 loss to Australia. The Gangurrus have got the same quartet at the World Cup as they had at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup earlier this year – Maley, Sowah, Whittle and Wilson. In the 2025 Asia Cup semi final Maley scored a team-high eight points and took seven rebounds for the Gangurrus whilst Zhou scored a team-high seven points for China.

In the bronze medal game at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 in Vienna Australia defeated an undermanned three player China team 21-20. None of the players from China’s team that finished fourth at World Cup 2023 are playing at World Cup 2025. The Australian Gangurrus have greater continuity with a trio from World Cup 2023 – Maley, Whittle and Wilson all pulling on the green and gold at WC 2025 in Mongolia. Sowah joins this trio in the Australia 2025 World Cup team and all four players are in the top 40 on the women’s world rankings as at 23 June 2025. 20 year old Wenxia Li is China’s number one ranked 3×3 player and is ninth on the women’s world rankings however she is the only player in China’s 2025 World Cup team that is ranked in the top 40 in the women’s rankings.

China and Australia have regularly played each other at the business end of FIBA women’s 3×3 tournaments when medals were on the line. It is a different scenario at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 with China and Australia playing against each other in the first match on day one of the tournament with a start time of 11.00 am local Ulaanbaatar time. The Gangurrus had a blistering start to their FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 Pool A game and after 85 seconds of play all four Australians had scored to open up a five point lead, 6-1. The Gangurrus were never threatened and defeated China 21-12 with two minutes and 33 seconds remaining.  Wilson scored a game-high eight points and Sowah on 3×3 World Cup debut ranked second for the game with seven points.

At FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup 2024 held in Vienna Austria from 22 to August 2025 Poland’s team of Klaudia Gretchen, Anna Pawlowska, Weronika Telenga and Aleksandra Zeiemborska finished fourth. Poland won their first three games of the tournament including a 21-14 Pool B victory against Germany. In the 3^rd place game Poland lost to Netherlands 14-21. The same quartet are representing Poland at World Cup 2025 and entered the tournament is the number eight seeds. Poland’s opening game of WC 2025 was against Australia who were playing their second match of the tournament. Poland started well to lead their Pool A game against Australia 6-4 with seven minutes remaining. The Gangurrus responded with a six nil run including a total of three points from Maley and a two-pointer from Whittle to lead 10-6 with five minutes and 25 seconds remaining. The two teams were evenly matched for the rest of the contest and the Gangurrus defeated Poland 21-18. Whittle scored a team-high eight points and took an equal game-high seven rebounds Whilst Wilson contributed seven points and Maley took four rebounds. Zeiemborska scored a game-high nine points and Telenga led Poland with six rebounds.

On Day 1 of Pool A action at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 Australia had two wins, China, Poland and Italy had one win each and Madagascar lost their games against Italy and Poland. China’s victory was 20-11 against Italy.

Raelin D’Alie is the only member of Italy’s gold medal winning team from FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2018 that is representing her nation this week at WC 2025. Guard D’Alie led the 2018 tournament overall with 52 points scored and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2018 held in the Philippines. Joining D’Alie in Italy’s ninth seeded 2025 WC team is Sofia Frustaci, Meriem Nasraoui and Beatrice Olajide.  

Pool B

Netherlands (2)

United States (7)

Czechia (10)

Japan (15)

Chile (17)

Some details are provided on the highest two seeded nations in Pools B, C and D.

The Netherlands are seeded second at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 and have been the form side of the FIBA Women’s Series 2025 to make the final at all four events they have competed in. In the three stops that the Netherlands have won in the FIBA Women’s Series 2025 – Chengdu, Amsterdam and Vienna the team was the same as the quartet that is competing at Ulaanbaatar in the World Cup – Janis Boonstra, Noortje Driessen, Ilse Kujt and Lutje Schipholt. The Netherlands have made the final at all four Women’s series stops in 2025. With three World Cup team members – Boonstra, Driessen and Kujt along with Julia Jorritsma the Netherlands finished second at Baku Stop 2025.

The Netherlands team for World Cup 2025 includes the number one and two women’s 3×3 players on the World rankings at 23 June 2025, being Driessen and Boonstra respectively. Whilst the Netherlands have proven themselves on the Women’s Series they haven’t as much 3×3 success at major championships being Olympic Games and World Championships as some of their major rivals. The Netherlands finished 16^th at  FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 and didn’t qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

None of the members of the Netherlands WC team in Ulaanbaatar represented their nation at WC 2023 in Vienna. In their opening game at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Netherlands had an upset 16-21 loss to 15^th seeds Japan. A high foul count proved costly and when the Netherlands committed their 10th foul with one minute and two seconds remaining they trailed 16-18. From this 10^th foul Japan made both free throws and then made a one-pointer from their possession to win 21-16. In their second Pool B game the Netherlands lost to the United States 11-15. The Netherlands will have to respond strongly in their Pool games on Thursday 26 June against Czechia and Chile in order to progress to the knockout stage of World Cup 2025.

USA have finished on the podium at the last two women’s 3×3 major championships. The USA team comprised of front court players Cierra Burdick and Cameron Brink along with guard Linnae Harper and Hailey Van Lith won gold at FIBA World Cup 2023, defeating France 16-12. The USA team of Burdick, Van Lith, Dearica Hamby and Ryne Howard won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, defeating Canada 16-13 in the third place game. There was a WNBA mid-season break during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games which enabled WNBA players Hamby and Howard to suit up for the USA 3×3 team in Paris. The 2025 WNBA season is currently in progress so Howard and Hamby and other WNBA players weren’t available for WC 2025 due to their WNBA commitments.

The seventh seeded USA team at Ulaanbaatar is Morgan Maly, Sarah Strong, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams. Strong was a member of the University of Connecticut team that won the 2025 NCAA Women’s championship. Strong, Mikayla Williams, and Sahara Williams will be able to draw on their junior 3×3 experience including all being teammates on the USA team that won the FIBA 3×3 Under 18 World Cup in 2022 and 2023. Strong and Mikayla Williams have each won three FIBA 3×3 Under 18 World Cup gold medals with Mikayla Williams having won her first gold medal at this tournament in 2021 and Strong having won her third gold medal with USA in 2024.

The USA women’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 team of Maly, Strong, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams performed well at FIBA Women’s Series Ulaanbaatar Stop 2025 in the past week on June 18 and 19. In a semi final against Germany scores were locked at 17 points apiece at the end of the 10 minute regulation period. In overtime USA scored the only two points with one-pointers for both Mikayla Williams and Strong to record a 19-17 victory against Germany to advance to the final. USA played the Australian Gangurrus in the final, a team they defeated 21-18 in their opening Pool C game. USA were in a commanding position, leading Australia 13-8 with four minutes remaining in the final. An experienced Gangurrus outfit showed more composure in the closing stages to go on a 12-6 run to record a fightback 20-19 victory against USA.

In their first Pool B game at World Cup 2025 on Tuesday 24 June the United States defeated Czechia 21-12 led by a double-double from Strong comprised of 12 points and 10 rebounds to set game-highs in both categories. United States had a dream start to lead number two seeds the Netherlands 7-1 with six minutes and 30 seconds remaining. This proved to be the match winning burst of the game with USA recording a four point victory, 15-11 over the Netherlands.

Pool C

France (3)

Canada (6)

Hungary (11)

Austria (14)

Latvia (18)

The French team of Myriam Djekoundade, Laetitia Guapo, Hortense Limouzin and Marie-Eve Paget won the silver medal at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 held in Vienna, Austria. France defeated Australia 21-17 in a semi final and had a 12 -16 loss to the United States in the final. same quartet of Djekoundade, Guapo, Limouzin and Paget. On home soil at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games the same quartet of Djekoundade, Guapo, Limouzin and Paget were unable to replicate their 2023 World Cup performance and finished eight.

Limouzin is the only member of France’s silver medal winning team from the 2023 World Cup in Vienna that is suiting for France at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025. The new additions to the third seeded French team are Droguet, Marie Mane and Milapie. Limouzin and Mane were both members of the French team that won the FIBA 3X3 Women’s Series Hangzhou Final 2024, defeating the Netherlands 15-12 in the final.

France defeated defeating Hungary 21-16 in their opening Pool C games at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025. In their second Pool C France were precariously placed, trailed 9-14 with one minute and 40 seconds left. France went on an incredible 7-0 run which included five points for Mane comprised of a two-pointer, two free throws and a one point shot. This gave France an unlikely 16-14 lead with 28 seconds left. Austria scored the final point of the game but France held on for a miraculous escape, recording a thrilling 16-15 victory against Austria.  

The Canadian team that finished sixth at FIBA Women’s 3×3 World Cup 2023 and fourth at Paris Olympics 2024 was Kacie Bosch and Paige Crozon along with twin sisters Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe. Canada have had success on FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series including winning the 2022 Series. Bosch and Crozon remain from the team that has represented Canada at the past two FIBA 3×3 major championships however neither of the Plouffe sisters are representing their nation at FIBA Women’s World Cup 2025 in Ulaanbaatar.

The players completing the Canadian team at WC 2025 are Cassandra Brown and Saicha Grant-Allen. A Canadian team comprised of Katherine Plouffe along with three FIBA 3X3 World Cup 2025 team members – Bosch, Crozon and Grant Allen won FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2025 held in Bangkok, Thailand from 14 to 16 March. Canada defeated Australia 18-16 with Paige Crozon displaying composure and skill to making a two-pointer on the buzzer to secure victory. Canada defeated Spain 15-13 in the final to win Red Bull Champions Cup 2025. At Amsterdam Stop 2025 there was one change to Canada’s team with Brown replacing Bosch. Canada made it to the final and lost to Netherlands 11-20.

At FIBA Women’s Series Ulaanbaatar Stop 2025 in the past week on June 18 and 19 Canada’s World Cup team of Bosch, Brown, Crozon and Grant-Allen convincingly won their pool games against Mongolia (21-6) and Japan (21-9). In a quarter final the number 1 seeded Canadian team suffered a 16-20 defeat to Australia. The Canadian quartet for FIBA Women’s World Cup 2025 are all in the top 50 of the women’s rankings as at 23 June 2025 led by Crozon (3) and then Bosch (15), Grant-Allen (37) and Brown (43).

Canadian forward Brown has played in two leagues in Australia, the WNBL and NBL1. In 2023/24 Brown played all 23 WNBL games as an import for Townville Fire, averaged 6.8 points playing 17.1 minutes off the bench and shot exceptionally from long range to have a three-point accuracy of 45.6%. In the 2022 and 2023 NBL1 South seasons Brown averaged more than 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Mount Gambier Pioneers. In the later 2023 season Brown was teammate with Australian Gangurrus FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 team member Miela Sowah.  

Grant-Allen scored nine points and took eight rebounds to set game high’s in both categories in Canada’s 17-10 victory against Latvia in their opening Pool C game at WC 2025 in Ulaanbaatar. In Canada’s second Pool C game Brown scored a game-high nine points, three points more than the second ranked player of the game in Canada’s 20-15 victory against Austria.

Canadian forward Cassandra Brown playing for Townsville Fire against Bendigo Spirit at Geelong Arena on 7 January 2024

Brown isn’t the only player in Pool C at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 that has played as an import in Australia. Latvian centre Digna (Diggy) Strautmane played a total of 47 games in NBL1 South for Ringwood Hawks across the 2022 and 2024 seasons. Australian Gangurrus FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 team member Whittle and Strautmane were starters on the Ringwood Hawks team that won the 2022 NBL1 South championship. Whittle was selected in the NBL1 South Al,-Star 5 and won the Grand Final MVP and Strautmane won the NBL1 South’s  Defensive Player of the Year Award. Diggy led the NBL1 South for blocked shots per game, ranked third for steals and averaged 15.9 points, 8.7 rebounds per game for Ringwood. In their second Pool C game at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 Strautmane scored two points and took a game-high seven rebounds in a 15-10 victory against Hungary.  

Digna Strautmane cutting the net after Ringwood Hawks victory against Bendigo Braves in the 2022 NBL1 South Grand Final on 3 September 2022 at the State Basketball Centre

Pool D

Spain (4)

Germany (5)

Mongolia (12)

Ukraine (13)

Brazil (19)

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Germany’s team comprised of Svenja Brunckhorst, Sonja Greinacher, Elisa Mevius, Marie Reichert won the gold medal, winning eight of their nine matches at the tournament for a winning ratio of 89%. The other seven teams at the Paris Olympics all had multiple defeats. In the final against Spain a 15 all deadlock entering the final minute was broken when Greinacher made a two-pointer with 30 seconds left. Spain reduced the margin to one point with 17 seconds remaining but that was the final score and Germany recorded a 17-16 victory to win gold at the Paris Olympics.

Mevius is the only member of Germany’s gold medal winning team form the Paris Olympic Games that is representing her nation at  FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 in Ulaanbaatar. Additions to the Germany team are Ama Degbeon, Sarah Polleros and Laura Zolper.

Spain’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025  team of Gracia Alonso De Armino, Juana Camilion, Vega Gimeno, Sandra Ygueravide have extensive experience as teammates at 3×3 tournaments. This quartet represented Spain at FIBA 3×3 EuroCup 2023 and won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, losing in the final 16-17 to Germany.  

Vega Gimeno and Sandra Ygueravide were members of Spain’s team that finished eighth at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. This duo were joined by Gracia Alonso De Armino, Juana Camilion on a Spanish team that won the silver medal at FIBA 3×3 EuroCup 2023. Earlier this year Spain’s team of De Armino, Camilion, Gimeno, and Ygueravide won FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Marseille Stop 2025. In their opening Pool D game at WC 2025 Spain had a convincing 21-10 victory against Ukraine led by eight points from Gimeno and six points from Ygueravide.

The Australian 3×3 women’s team’s history from 2012 to 2021

The FIBA 3×3 World Cup was held for the first time in Athens, Greece from 23 to 26 August 2012 when it was known as the FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2012. The Australian 3×3 women’s team was Sara Blicavs, Katie Ebzery, Alice Kunek and Tess Madgen. Australia belied their status as the 23rd seeds to win all five Pool A games to top their pool and advance to the last 16. In the knockout stage Australia excelled to defeat Germany 21-4 in the last 16 and the Czech Republic 16-11 in a quarter final. After being defeated in a semi final by USA 18-19 Australia won a thrilling bronze medal game against Ukraine 18-17 to finish on the podium at the 2012 FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Championships.

At the 2015 FIBA Women’s 3×3 Oceania Championships held on the Gold Coast current Gangurrus team member Anneli Maley was in the Australian quartet along with Alexandra Sharp, Elizabeth Tonks and Chantel Horvat. Australia won three of their four pool games with the loss being to New Zealand 6-9. The trans-Tasman rivals met again in the final and Australia were triumphant in a thriller 14-13, to win the gold medal.

From 2017 onwards Oceania Championships were no longer held at senior level with nations from the Asia and Oceania zones both competing in the Asia Cup. Australia and New Zealand who are the clear-cut strongest two nations in the Oceania zone face higher quality opposition and a wider variety of opponents and playing styles competing in the Asia Cup. 

From 2017 to 2019 Australia finished on the podium at three consecutive 3×3 Asia Cups, winning gold in 2017 and 2019 and bronze in 2018. At the 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup held in Changsha, China from 22 to 26 May the Australian team comprised of Bec Cole, Alice Kunek, Maddie Garrick and Hanna Zavecz won all five games, comprehensively defeating Kazakhstan 20-9 in the final to win the gold medal.

From 2019 onwards Damon Lowery has been the Head Coach of the Australian women’s 3×3 team. At the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2019 held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 4 and 5 May current Gangurrus team member Whittle made her Australian 3×3 debut with Lowery as coach. Australia won all four games at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2019 to qualify for 3×3 World Cup 2019.

At the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2019 held in Amsterdam from 18-23 June, 25 nations participated in the women’s event and the Australian team comprised of Bec Cole, Keely Froling, Maddie Garrick and Alice Kunek were the 18th seed. Australia won four of their first five games, with the exception being a one point loss to France, 16-17 in their fourth and final Pool B game. In the knock-out stage Australia had a 19-13 victory against Russia in a quarter final. Australia lost a nail-biter against China 14-15 in a semi-final and then played off for third place against France. Australia were comprehensively defeated by France 9-21 and finished the tournament in fourth place.

The first ever FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series was held in 2019. Due to the travel required to compete at the stops as well as the focus on the WNBL when it is in season Australia competed in far less tournaments than their rivals in this format. An Australian team only competed at the first stop in Chengdu and the final stop in Tokyo. Despite not playing this format as regularly as their rivals Australia were extremely successful, winning both stops. The Australian team for the Chengdu Stop was Cole, Garrick, Kunek and Zavecz. There was one change to the Australian team for the Tokyo Stop with Keely Froling replacing Zavecz.

On 19 February 2020 a five player Australian squad of Cole, Garrick, Kunek, Kelsey Griffin and Lauren Nicholson was named for the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament which was scheduled to be held in Bangalore, India from 18 to 22 March 2020. Due to COVID-19 cases around the world escalating in March 2020 the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed.

The Australian team for the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2021 held in Graz, Austria from May 26-30, 2021 was Cole, Froling, Garrick and Kunek. Australia were seeded 17^th out of the 20 nations competing. Australia lost their opening Group B game to Japan 15-21 and won three consecutive games against Ukraine 15-12, Thailand 22-5 and Iran 22-2 to progress to the quarter-finals. In a tight-fought contest Australia lost to 13^th seeds Spain 12-14 which eliminated Australia from the tournament with a sixth placed finish and ended their hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games. 

The Australian Gangurrus 3×3 women’s team’s history from 2022 to 2025

At the start of 2022 Lauren Mansfield and Ally Wilson were yet to make their debut for the Australian 3×3 team but had been members of the national 3×3 squad and had attended training camps along with Maley, Whittle, forward/centre Lauren Scherf and regulars in the team including Cole, Kunek, Garrick and Keely Froling.

For FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2022 held in Singapore from 6 to 10 July Australia named a new look team of Maley, Mansfield, Scherf and Whittle. The three medal winning nations from the 2018 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup – New Zealand (gold medal), China (silver medal) and Australia (bronze medal) all faced difficult draws at the 2022 tournament as they were the three nations all drawn in Pool C. Australia split their Pool games, winning their opening game against New Zealand 21-11 and were defeated by China 20-12. Australia won their quarter final against Mongolia 21-10 and had a 21-13 victory over Indonesia in the semi finals. The two nations from Pool C that progressed to the knockout stage – China and Australia played each other in the final. With the gold medal on the line it was a closer encounter than their Pool game but China prevailed against Australia for the second time at the tournament, recording a 14-10 victory to win the gold medal with Australia winning silver and finishing in the medals for the fourth consecutive FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup. Maley was named in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2022 Team of the Tournament.

Weeks later the Australian Gangurrus women’s team competed in the 3×3 tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham from 29 July to 2 August. Due to Australian Opals commitments Maley was unavailable for the Commonwealth Games and Ally Wilson was brought into the team to make her Australian 3×3 debut. 3×3 Asia Cup 2022 Gangurrus women’s team members Mansfield, Scherf and Whittle all suited up in the green and gold again at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Australia won their three pool games at the 2022 Commonwealth Games to advance to the semi finals. In a semi final Australia were defeated by England 15-21. Australia looked to be in a precarious position when they trailed New Zealand 6-10 In the bronze medal game. The Gangurrus went on a 9-3 run to fight back and had a 15-13 victory against their arch-rivals New Zealand to win the bronze medal.

Lauren Mansfield and Marena Whittle playing for Adelaide Lightning against the Melbourne Boomers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2022  

Singapore was again the host city for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 held from 29 March to 2 April. The Australian Gangurrus quartet of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson dominated at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 to win the gold medal in convincing fashion. Australia won three qualifying draw games and five main draw games by at least 10 points each and defeated Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand 21-11 in the final to win the gold medal. Maley and Whittle were both named in the Team of the Tournament for Asia Cup 2023, Maley ranked first overall with 7.6 rebounds per game. Whittle was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP), ranked first overall with 8.6 points per game and sixth with 6.6 rebounds per game.

Ally Wilson playing defense for Bendigo Spirit against Southside Flyers guard Bec Cole at the State Basketball Centre on 6 January 2023

On the weekend of Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 May 2023 Australia had not one but two Gangurrus women’s teams competing in international tournaments. On this weekend a FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier was held in Eilat, Israel and the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Wuhan Stop took place in China. Four players that had been members of Australia’s 3×3 squad and had attended training camps were able to gain valuable experience representing their nation. Due to WNBA commitments with Chicago Sky Maley was unavailable for either tournament. Heading into a massive first weekend of May with two Gangurrus women’s teams in action Australian 3×3 women’s coach Damon Lowery told Basketball Australia “The clear goal is to finish top three and make the World Cup. We’re going to consolidate and strengthen our 3×3 strategies and values. The Gangurrus welcome in Miela Goodchild, Chloe Bibby, Amy Atwell and Emma Clarke for their first international 3×3 tournament in the green and gold.”6

At the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2023 held in Eilat, Israel on 6 and 7 May the Australian team was comprised of Whittle, Wilson, Keely Froling and Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild). Australia were challenged in their second Pool A game but were able to prevail 18-16 against Czech Republic. Australia had convincing victories against Madagascar 21-9 and Israel 21-11 in their first and third Pool A games respectively. With Australia leading Israel 20-11 Whittle made a free throw to secure victory which enabled the Australian Gangurrus women’s team to finish first at the tournament and qualify for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. Australia were led by 10 points from Whittle and nine points from Wilson in the win against Israel.

At the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Wuhan Stop on 6 and 7 May Mansfield’s experience playing for Australia at 3×3 level was invaluable alongside Australian 3×3 debutants – Amy Atwell, Chloe Bibby and Emma Clarke. In Australis’s third and final Pool A game Japan made a free-throw to tie the scores at 20 points apiece with one minute and 23 seconds remaining. Six seconds later Mansfield displayed composure to make a one point shot to secure victory for the Gangurrus and finished with a game-high 10 points. Australia defeated Sc. Yuanda 21-16 in a semi final led by 10 points from Mansfield. Host nation China defeated Australia 21-13 in the final, resulting in Australia finishing second at  Wuhan stop. Mansfield ranked second overall at the tournament with 7.6 points per game.

The Australian women’s Gangurrus team of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson were seeded 19^th out of the 20 nations competing in Vienna from Tuesday 30 May to Sunday 4 June at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. Australia won four of their first five games of the tournament to advance to the semi finals where they lost to France 17-21. In the third place game Australia trailed China 14-11 with five minutes remaining. Whittle scored four of the next five points in the game, all with one point shots to level the scores with three minutes and 37 seconds remaining. China regained the ascendancy to lead 20-17 with one minute and 59 seconds left. Whittle made a two point shot to reduce the margin to one point with one minute and 43 seconds remaining. 29 seconds later Whittle displaying composure and skill when the stakes were at their highest made a two point shot to give Australia a thrilling 21-20 victory to win the bronze medal. Whittle finished the bronze medal game with a game-high 11 points. Whittle averaged 10.0 points per game, ranked second overall at the tournament and was recognised for her exceptional World Cup 2023 by being selected in the Team of the Tournament. It was Australia’s second 3×3 World Cup medal, having won bronze 11 years earlier at the 2012 edition of the tournament in the first time the event was held. 

Marena Whittle playing for Adelaide Lightning against the Melbourne Boomers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2022

On Friday August 4 and Saturday August 5, 2023 the Australian women’s Gangurrus team competed in FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Yichang Stop 2023. A four player team comprised of Maley, Mansfield, Emma Clarke and Whittle was selected for the tournament however Mansfield was a late withdrawal, reducing the Gangurrus team to three players. In an article published by the Sydney Flames Emma Clarke commented “It was never the plan to travel with three, as unfortunately Lauren Mansfield had to pull out last minute because of a medical condition and it was too late to get a replacement because of the Chinese visa requirements.”7 Despite being unable to make any substitutions the three player Gangurrus team of Clarke, Maley and Whittle were tremendous competing against four player teams and won their first four games of the tournament to make the Yichang Stop final. Australia led by five points, 10-5 with three minutes and 50 seconds left in the final. China with fresher legs due to having a substitute overran Australia to win the final by a point, 14-13. 

On Australia having the same quartet for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 as the gold medal winning Asia Cup 2023 team Lauren Mansfield told Basketball Australia “It’s definitely an advantage, we know each other well and work well together. We still have so many things we can improve on and Asia Cup is a great chance to do so against some quality opponents. Any time we can get together on the court is so critical for not only this but in preparation for trying to qualify for the Olympics.”8

At FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 held in Singapore from 27 to 31 March the Australian Gangurrus were seeded fifth out of the 12 teams in the main draw. In their opening 2024 Pool D game the two 2023 finalists met with Australia defeating fourth seeds New Zealand 22-9. The Gangurrus won each of their first four games by at least 13 points to progress to the final in convincing fashion. In the 2024 final the Gangurrus played New Zealand for the second year in a row and second time at the tournament. In their closest game of the tournament the Gangurrus prevailed in the final against New Zealand by five points, 18-13. Ally Wilson averaged 5.2 points per game, ranked first at the tournament with a total player value of 41.6 and won the tournament MVP Award. Maley ranked second at the tournament with 7.4 rebounds per game. It was the fourth time that the Australian Gangurrus women’s team won the gold medal at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, they have won a medal at all six Asia Cups they have competed in.

The Australian Gangurrus women’s team of Maley, Mansfield, Whittle and Wilson were seeded sixth out of eight teams competing at FIBA 3×3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 held in Utsunomiya, Japan from 3 to 5 May. In their opening game of the tournament against the Netherlands momentum ebbed and flowed throughout the game. Australia led 16-14 with 14 seconds remaining. With three seconds left Janis Boonstra made a two-pointer to tie the scores at 16 points apiece and the game went to overtime. Boonstra scored a two-pointer in overtime to secure a two-point win for the Netherlands. 

Australia had three consecutive victories against Kenya (22-9), Canada (21-16) and Brazil (18-16) to progress to the final. Australia played number 2 seeds Canada in the final with the winner to qualify for the women’s 3×3 tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Australia trailed Canada 11-12 with four minutes and 30 seconds remaining. The Gangurrus finished strongly with an 8-4 run to defeat Canada 19-16 to finish first at FIBA 3×3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 and booked their ticket for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Whittle and Wilson scored an equal game-high eight points each in the final. Maley averaged 3.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and had a tournament-high total player value of 34.4 to be named tournament MVP.

The quartet of Maley, Mansfield, Whittle and Wilson represented the Australian Gangurrus women’s team at FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Chengdu Stop 2024 in June. Australia won two of their three Pool A games, defeating Thailand 21-12 and Singapore 21-9 in their first and third game respectively. Australia lost to China in overtime 14-16 in their second game. Australia defeated Romania 21-13 in a quarter final and had a 21-11 victory against Dusseldorf ZOOS to set up a finals encounter against host nation China. Australia were in a commanding position leading 13-6 with five minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the final. China fought back to level the scores 16 points apiece with one minute and five seconds left. Whittle made two one-pointers to give the Gangurrus an 18-16 lead with 49 seconds left. China reduced the lead to a point with 38 seconds left in what was the final score of the game and Australia held on to defeat China by a solitary point 18-17. In the final Whittle scored a game-high nine points and Maley took a game-high eight rebounds. Whittle averaged an equal tournament high 7.5 points per game, had a tournament-high total player value of 51.9 & won the tournament MVP award. Maley averaged a tournament high 7.5 rebounds per game.    

During Ford Ballin’ 24 the Australian Gangurrus women’s 3×3 team played a total of six games against the Chinese women’s national 3×3 team at John Cain Arena in Melbourne from Tuesday 2 July to Friday 5 July. All four members of Australia’s gold medal winning team at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024– Anneli Maley, Lauren Mansfield, Marena Whittle and Ally Wilson were in the Gangurrus six player squad for Ford Ballin’ 24. The Gangurrus squad for Ford Ballin’ 24 was completed by Chloe Bibby and Emma Clarke. The Gangurrus were one of six Australian national basketball teams that played during Ford Ballin 24’ along with the women’s 5 on 5 team – the Opals, the men’s 5 on 5 team – the Boomers, the Gangurrus men’s 3×3 team and wheelchair teams Rollers (men’s) and Gliders (women’s). After playing in tournaments around the world Ford Ballin 24’ was a great opportunity for the Gangurrus to play in front of a home crowd. The Gangurrus won all six games against China at Ford Ballin’ 24. Australia’s smallest winning margin was six points (19-13) in the second game on Thursday which was the fifth game of the series.

Australia took part in their second 2024 FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2024 tournament at Guba Stop on 20 and 21 July. In their second Pool A game Australia trailed Netherlands 15-19 with 39 seconds remaining. The Gangurrus finished strongly to score four of the next five points of the game including two-pointers to Wilson and Whittle to tie the scores at 20 points apiece. Wilson made a two-pointer with two seconds remaining to give Australia a 22-20 victory. Netherlands and Australia met again in the final and the Gangurrus were again victorious, having a 21-15 win. The Gangurrus team of Maley, Mansfield, Whittle and Wilson won all five games at Guba Stop to win the tournament. Maley ranked second at FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Guba Stop 2024 with 7.2 rebounds per game, sixth with 5.4 points per game and won the Tournament Most Valuable Player Award.

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games the Gangurrus women’s team of Anneli Maley, Lauren Mansfield, Marena Whittle and Ally Wilson created history by becoming the first 3×3 team to represent Australia at the Olympics. Australia were seeded 8^th of the eight nations competing in the women’s 3×3 tournament at Paris. During the pool stage the Gangurrus played seven games comprised of one game against each of the seven other nations in the field. In their opening game of the tournament the Gangurrus suffered a 14-22 loss to Canada, the nation they had defeated to book their ticket to the Olympics. Australia and Germany were evenly matched with the biggest margin of the game being three points. The Gangurrus trailed Germany 8-10 with six minutes and 23 seconds remaining and then went on a 9-4 run to lead by three points, 17-14 with two minutes and 46 seconds remaining. Germany were able to trim the lead and when Brunckhorst made a two-pointer with 54 seconds left the scores were tied at 19 points apiece. Wilson displayed composure and skill to make a two-pointer with 54 seconds left, securing the victory for the Gangurrus 21-19. Whittle scored nine points in the two point victory closely followed by Wilson with eight points, Maley took a game-high seven rebounds. The Gangurrus kept their momentum going to defeat China 21-15 led by Wilson with 11 points, making four of eight two-pointers and seven points from Whittle. Australia extended their winning streak to three games by defeating United States 17-15 led by eight points from Wilson. In an even performance the Gangurrus defeated Azerbaijan 21-12 with each member of the Gangurrus quartet scoring at least five points and/or taking five rebounds. 

The win against Azerbaijan increased the Gangurrus winning streak to four games however they had a major setback later that day when Mansfield injured her back in the warm-up before the game against Spain and was unable to play. A three player Australian outfit recovered from a 13-16 deficit against Spain to score the next three points to level the scores at 16 points apiece with three minutes and nine seconds left. Over the next 35 seconds each team scored one point to increase the tally to 17 points each. Spain scored the last four points of the game, all from the free throw line to defeat the Gangurrus 21-17.

The Gangurrus played host nation France in their final pool game, Mansfield returned to the line-up but played limited minutes due to her back injury. After trailing 9-12 the Gangurrus fought back to score the next three points of the game and levelled the scores at 12 all. France regained the lead, however a Wilson two-pointer with 48 seconds left locked the scores up at 16 all with 48 seconds left. Marie-Eve Paget responded for France by making a two-pointer in what ended up being the final score of the game and the Gangurrus were defeated 16-18 to finish the pool stage with a record of four wins and three losses. The Gangurrus finished fifth in Pool A two wins behind Germany with second to fifth all recording four wins. Second placed Spain qualified for the semi finals and third placed USA had a play-in game against China who had two wins and five losses during the pool stage. Australia were the only nation to defeat Germany during the pool stage. Australia progressed to a play-in game and played Canada who had finished fourth in the standings at the end of the pool stage. With Mansfield again playing limited minutes due to her back injury Australia were no match for Canada, being defeated 10-21. The Gangurrus finished fifth at the Paris Olympics with a record of four wins and four losses.

An article published by FIBA on 17 December 2024 stated “FIBA is thrilled to announce the historic launch of its newest competition, the FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup, debuting in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 14-16, 2025, at CentralWorld Square.”9 The article went on to say “the Champions Cup will be held annually and will feature the world’s top 3×3 basketball teams, including continental cup winners, the highest-ranked teams in the FIBA 3×3 basketball rankings, Olympic gold medalists and the host nation.“10 The first five editions of the Champions Cup will be hosted by Bangkok, Thailand.

As 2024 Asia Cup Champions the Australian Gangurrus women’s team qualified for the Red Bull Champions Cup 2025. There were eight nations in the women’s tournament with half the field qualifying by winning a continental cup, Australia (Asia Cup), Canada (AmeriCup), Madagascar (Africa Cup) and Spain (Europe Cup). Thailand qualified for Champions Cup by hosting the tournament and Germany qualified by winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. China and France both qualified for the Champions Cup due to their World Ranking.

Anneli Maley playing for Perth Lynx in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

The Australian Gangurrus women’s team were seeded sixth for Red Bull Champions Cup 2025 which is held in Bangkok, Thailand March 14-16. The Gangurrus team was comprised of Maley, Sowah, Isabelle Bourne and Hannah Hank. After Australia suffered a 13-21 loss to Spain in their opening Pool B game the Gangurrus responded by having narrow victories in their last two Pool B games, 22-19 against host nation Thailand and 21-18 against Spain.  In a semi final Australia led Canada 8-5 with six minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Canada were able to gradually close the gap and eventually tied the scores at 16 points apiece with 29 seconds left. The current number 3 ranked played in the world – Paige Crozon made a two-pointer on the buzzer to win the game for Canada. Bourne scored a game-high nine points, and Maley took an equal game-high seven rebounds. In the bronze medal game between Australia and Germany scores were locked together at 17 points apiece late in the game. With eight seconds left Hannah Hank made a one pointer from in the key to break a tie. This ended up being the final score of the game and Australia won the bronze medal. Sowah ranked equal first at Champions Cup 2024 with 6.4 points per game and was selected in the Team of the Tournament.

The Australian Gangurrus were attempting to win their third consecutive Asia Cup at the 2025 edition of the tournament held in Singapore from 26-30 March. One change was made to the team that won the 2023 and 2024 editions, with Miela Sowah replacing Lauren Mansfield to be a member of the Gangurrus quartet along with Maley, Whittle and Wilson. The fourth seeded Gangurrus reached 21 points in each of their first three games and had an average winning margin of 13 points to progress to the semi finals on the final day of competition. Australia faced a tougher test against top seeds China but were up to the challenge and had a 21-15 victory led by Maley with a team-high eight points and seven rebounds. Maley was one of three Gangurrus to score at least six points and take at least five rebounds along with Whittle and Wilson. Japan led the final against Australia 9-8 with six minutes and 45 seconds remaining. The Gangurrus went on a 13-8 run for the remainder of the game to have a 21-17 victory and won their third consecutive Asia Cup gold medal. Whittle scored a game-high nine points in the final. Wilson was named Tournament MVP for the second consecutive Asia Cup. At Asia Cup 2025 Wilson ranked third overall with 6.8 points per game, team-mate Whittle ranked fourth with 6.6 points per game. Maley ranked second with 6.6 rebounds per game.

 2025 is the sixth year that the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series is being held. In total Australia had only competed in six stops up until the end of 2024 but had been very successful making it to the final at all six stops comprised of two stops in 2019, two stops in 2023 and two stops in 2024. Before the 2025 World Cup the Gangurrus surpassed their previous series best tally to compete at three stops in the Women’s Series 2025.

The Australia Gangurrus team was comprised of guard Sowah and three forwards, Alex Fowler,  Hank and Lara McSpadden were the ninth seeds of 12 teams competing at Chengdu Stop on 2 and 3 May. In their opening Pool A game the Gangurrus had a 10-21 loss to the Netherlands. In their second Pool A game Australia led Japanese team Takasaki for most of the game and looked to be in a commanding position when they lead 19-14 with two minutes remaining. Takasaki went on a 6-0 run to lead 20-19 and be on the verge of a fightback victory. Hank made two free throws one minute and 12 seconds remaining to secure the victory and enable the Gangurrus to progress beyond the pool stage. In a quarter final Australia trailed China 5-8. The Gangurrus went on a 14-7 run to record a fightback 19-15 victory with Sowah scoring a game-high 11 points. The Gangurrus led by eight points from Sowah had a convincing 21-7 semi final victory against Mongolian team Ulaanbaatar Amazons. Australia progressed to final and played Netherlands for the second time at the tournament. The Gangurrus had a better start than their pool game to lead the final against the Netherlands 4-1. The Netherlands cotrolled the remainder of the game and an 11 point victory and the same score as the pool game, 21-10. Hank ranked first overall at Chengdu Stop with 11  free throws made and fourth with 4.6 rebounds per game. Sowah ranked in the top 10 for points & player value per game.

For Marseille Stop held on May 23-24 Fowler, McSpadden and Sowah remained in the Gangurrus team and Isabelle Bourne replaced Hank. The 10^th seeded Australian team were unable to progress  past the pool stage, having losses to Spain 16-17 and Orléans 13-19.  

In the week before FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Australian Gangurrus competed in a Women’s Series Stop on June 17-18 in the WC host city, Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. For the first time since winning the Asia Cup 2025 gold medal the Gangurrus quartet was Maley, Sowah, Whittle, and Wilson. Australia split their Pool C games, having a 21-6 victory against Amgalan Under 24 and an 18-21 loss to the United States. In a quarter final Australia played Canada who finished on top of Pool A with two wins and a total of 42 points. Whittle scored seven points and took seven rebounds to set game-highs in both categories and was the catalyst for the Gangurrus 20-16 victory. Australia made the final and faced the team they lost to in the pool stage, the United States. USA were in a commanding position, leading Australia 13-8 with four minutes remaining in the final. An experienced Gangurrus outfit showed more composure in the closing stages to go on a 12-6 run to record a fightback 20-19 victory against USA. In the final Maley and Sowah scored an equal game-high eight points and Maley took an equal game-high six rebounds. Maley was named tournament MVP, averaging 5.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Women’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup history

The FIBA 3×3 World Cup is being held for the ninth time in 2025, having first been held in 2012.

Athens, Greece from 23 to 26 August 2012 when it was known as the FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2012. The 24 nations competing were split into four groups of six. The USA team comprised of Skylar Diggins, Bria Hartley, Chiney Ogwumike and Ann Strother won all nine games they played at the tournament including two thrillers in the medal games to win the gold medal. Number 2 seeds USA defeated Australia 19-18 in the semi final and made it back-to-back one point victories by defeating France 17-16 in the final to win the gold medal.

The Australian team at the FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2012 was Sara Blicavs, Katie Ebzery, Alice Kunek and Tess Madgen. Australia belied their status as the 23 seeds to win all five Pool A games to top their pool and advance to the last 16. In the knockout stage Australia excelled to defeat Germany 21-4 in the last 16 and the Czech Republic 16-11 in a quarter final. After being defeated in a semi final by USA 18-19 Australia won a thrilling bronze medal game against the Ukraine 18-17 to finish on the podium at the 2012 FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Championships.

The FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2014 had 24 nations competing in the women’s tournament held in Moscow, Russia from 5-8 June. After winning the bronze medal at the 2012 edition of the tournament the Australian women’s team were unable to qualify for the 2014 tournament. In Moscow the seventh seeded USA team of Cierra Burdick, Sara Hammon, Jewell Loyd and Tiffany Mitchell replicated their feat from 2012 and went undefeated for nine games to again win the gold medal. USA defeated Belgium 18-14 in a semi final and had a 15-8 victory against Russia in the final to again finish on the top step of the podium and claimed their second consecutive gold medal. In the third place game Belgium defeated Czech Republic 14-12 to win the bronze medal.

At the FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2016 held in Guangzhou, China from October 11-15 Australia’s team of Kelly Bowen, Isabella Brancatisano, Maddy Rocci and two-time Olympian Jenni Screen were the 17^th seed. Australia lost to Argentina 18-16 in their second Pool B game but won their other three games including a 12-11 victory against Hungary in their fourth and final Pool B game. Hungary defeated Argentina 14-11 in their Pool B game. At the end of the Pool phase Argentina, Hungary and Australia all had three wins and one loss. Hungary scored 67 points in the Pool games to top the pool whilst Australia and Argentina were tied on 62 points apiece. Argentina won their head to head game against Australia and won the tie-breaker to advance to the quarter finals, Australia were eliminated and finished 11^th at the World Championships.

After USA had gone through undefeated at the 2012 and 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships the 2016 edition of the tournament was far closer with all women’s teams bar one suffering multiple defeats. The fifth seeded Czech Republic team of Sara Krumpholcova, Katerina Novotna, Michaela Uhrova and Tereza Vorlova had victories in six of their seven games at the FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2016 and won the gold medal. After a narrow 21-18 victory against USA in the semi finals Czech Republic defeated Ukraine 20-11 to win the gold medal in convincing fashion. In the third place game USA defeated Spain 20-14 to win the bronze medal and finished on the podium at the first three editions of the tournament.

The Australian team of Bec Cole, Carley Ernst, Nadeen Payne and Amelia Todhunter were seeded 20^th out of 20 nations competing at the FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Cup 2017, held in Nantes, France from 17-21 June. In their first game Australia lost to Ukraine 12-21. Australia won two games in a row, defeating China 21-7 and Japan 18-8. In their final Group C game Australia lost to Netherlands 14-16 in overtime. With a record of two wins and two losses Australia finished third in Pool C behind the Netherlands (4 wins) and Ukraine (3 wins). A nation in each of the four pools finished with a record of two wins and two losses. Among these four nations Australia’s 65 points for was the highest, resulting in a ninth place finish overall.

The Russian team of Anna Leshkovtseva, Anastasiia Logunova, Tatiana Petrushina and Alexandra Stolyar entered the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2017 as the number eight seeds and defeated number one seeds Hungary 12-10 in a Pool B game. The two nations met again in the final and Russia were even more convincing, having a 19-12 victory against Hungary to win the gold medal. Russia went through the tournament undefeated, winning all seven games. Ukraine defeated Netherlands 15-13 in the third place game to win the bronze medal.

After being the lowest seed in 2017 Australia were unable to qualify for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2018 held in Philippines from June 8-12. Italy’s team of Giulia Ciavarella, Raelin D’Alie, Marcella Filippi and Giulia Rulli became the second number eight seeds in succession to win the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, winning the gold medal in 2018. Italy won six of their seven games, with their only loss being by a solitary point to Czech Republic 20-21 in their fourth and final Pool A game. Italy defeated China 15-13 in a semi final and had a 16-12 victory against Russia in the final to win the World Cup. Italian guard D’Alie led the tournament overall with 52 points scored and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament D’Alie is the only member of Italy’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2018 gold medal winning team that is in the Italian team at the 2025 edition of the tournament. 

At the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2019 held in Amsterdam from 18-23 June, 25 nations participated in the women’s event and the Australian team comprised of Bec Cole, Keely Froling, Maddie Garrick and Alice Kunek were the 18th seed. Australia won four of their first five games, with the exception being a one point loss to France – 16-17 in their fourth and final Pool B game. In the knock-out stage Australia had a 19-13 victory against Russia in a quarter final. Australia lost a nail-biter against China 14-15 in a semi-final and then played off for third place against France. Australia were comprehensively defeated by France 9-21 and finished the tournament in fourth place.

China’s team of Jiayin Jiang, Yingyun Li, Di Wu and ZhiTing Zhang entered the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2019 as the number one seeds and lived up to their top billing by going undefeated, winning all seven games to win the gold medal. Following their 15-14 semi final victory against Australia China defeated Hungary 19-13 in the final.

Australia after falling just short of a medal in 2019 did not qualify for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022 held in Antwerp, Belgium from 21-26 June. Two members of France’s 2019 bronze medal winning team – Laetitia Guapo and Marie-Eve Paget were members of their nations 2^nd seeded team for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022. The 2022 French team was completed by Myriam Djekoundade and Hortese Limouzin. After winning their first three Pool B games in 2022 France were defeated in their fourth and final Pool game by USA 18-20 but learnt from the narrow defeat. France convincingly defeated Mongolia 21-9 in a last 16 game. France lived dangerously for the rest of the tournament but prevailed in their next two games. In a quarter final France trailed Spain 12-13 with one minute remaining. Guapo scored the only point of the last minute, making a one-pointer with 12 seconds left, resulting in France and Spain being tied at 13 points apiece at the end of the 10 minute regulation period. Paget scored both of France’s points in overtime with two one-pointers to secure a 17-16 win against Spain. In the semi final France trailed China 15-16 with 55 seconds left. Guapo was the match-winner making a free-throw with 45 seconds left to tie the game at 16 points apiece and then a made a one-pointer with 23 seconds left to give France a 17-16 lead in what ended up being the final score of the game. Guapo scored a team-high nine points in the semi final victory.  France defeated Canada 16-13 in the final and won the gold medal after winning seven of their eight matches at the tournament. Guapo was named the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022 MVP. Limouzin is the only member of France’s gold medal winning team at FIBA 3×3 WC 2022 that is representing France at the 2025 edition of the tournament.

The Australian women’s Gangurrus team of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson were seeded 19^th out of the 20 nations competing in Vienna from Tuesday 30 May to Sunday 4 June at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. Australia won four of their first five games of the tournament to advance to the semi finals where they lost to France 17-21. In the third place game Australia trailed China 14-11 with five minutes remaining. Whittle was dominant in the closing stages scoring nine of the Gangurrus last 10 points to propel the Gangurrus to a fightback 21-20 victory. With Australia trailing 17-20 Whittle scored the last four points of the game comprised of two two-pointers. Whittle finished the bronze medal game with a game-high 11 points. Whittle averaged 10.0 points per game, ranked second overall at the tournament and was recognised for her exceptional World Cup 2023 by being selected in the Team of the Tournament. It was Australia’s second 3×3 World Cup medal, having won bronze 11 years earlier at the 2012 edition of the tournament in the first time the event was held. 

At FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 the United States of America women’s team consolidated their status as the most successful women’s team at 3×3 World Cups, winning the tournament for the third time., having previously won the first two editions in 2012 and 2014. FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2014 gold medal winner – forward Cierra Burdick was a member of USA’s 2023 WC team and was joined by guards Hayley Van Lith and forward Cameron Brink. Number 3 seeds USA had a 13-16 loss to seventh seeds Canada in their opening game at World Cup 2023. The United States won their remaining seven games of the tournament, culminating with a 16-12 victory against France in the final to win the gold medal. Brink and Van Lith each had qual game-highs of seven points and six rebounds for USA in the final. Brink was named tournament MVP, averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and had a tournament-high total of 10 blocked shots. Highlighting how little separated the teams women’s teams at World Cup 2023 the United States were the only nation that didn’t have multiple defeats. Brink and Whittle were joined in the Team of the Tournament was by French forward Laetitia Guapo.

The Australian women’s Gangurrus team of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson were seeded 19^th out of the 20 nations competing in Vienna from Tuesday 30 May to Sunday 4 June at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023. Australia won four of their first five games of the tournament to advance to the semi finals where they lost to France 17-21. In the third place game Australia trailed China 14-11 with five minutes remaining. Whittle scored four of the next five points in the game, all with one point shots to level the scores with three minutes and 37 seconds remaining. China regained the ascendancy to lead 20-17 with one minute and 59 seconds left. Whittle made a two point shot to reduce the margin to one point with one minute and 43 seconds remaining. 29 seconds later Whittle displaying composure and skill when the stakes were at their highest made a two point shot to give Australia a thrilling 21-20 victory to win the bronze medal. Whittle finished the bronze medal game with a game-high 11 points. Whittle averaged 10.0 points per game, ranked second overall at the tournament and was recognised for her exceptional World Cup 2023 by being selected in the Team of the Tournament. It was Australia’s second 3×3 World Cup medal, having won bronze 11 years earlier at the 2012 edition of the tournament in the first time the event was held. 

The 3×3 FIBA 2023 World Cup was held in Vienna, Austria from 30 May to 4 June early in the WNBA season. Due to this USA had a completely different team at World Cup 2023 to the team they had at the Tokyo Olympics. FIBA 3×3 World Championships 2014 gold medal winner – forward Cierra Burdick represented USA at a FIBA 3×3 World Cup for the third time in 2023, having also been a member of the USA team that finished seventh in 2022. Then 21 year old guard Hayley Van Lith represented USA at a FIBA 3×3 World Cup for a second time in 2023 having been teammates with Burdick on the USA team that finished seventh in 2022. The USA team in Vienna was completed by forward Cameron Brink and guard Linnae Harper. USA had a 13-16 loss to Canada in their opening game at World Cup 2023. The United States won their remaining seven games of the tournament, culminating with a 16-12 victory against France in the final to win the gold medal.

Australian Gangurrus men’s 3×3 team for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

The members of the 18^th seeded Australian men’s Gangurrus team at the  FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 are Jonah Antonio, Joshua Davey, Alex Higgins-Titsha and Dillon Stith. The Australian men’s team is competing at a FIBA 3×3 World Cup for the third time, having previously competed in 2019 and 2023.

At the FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2025 held in Bangkok from 14 to 16 March the Australian Gangurrus men’s team was comprised of the four players that are representing their nation at the World Cup – Antonio, Davey, Higgins-Titsha and Stith. Australia won all three Pool B games which included defeating the United States 21-15 in their third pool game. In a semi final the Gangurrus suffered a one point loss in overtime to Serbia 19-20. With the scores tied at 20 points apiece in the bronze medal game against the United States Stith made a free throw with two seconds left to secure a one point victory and third place for Australia.

Last month three members of the Gangurrus men’s WC team competed for Australia at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025  Antonio, Higgins-Titsha and Dillon Stith. The sixth seeded Australia men’s quartet at the Asia Cup held in Singapore on 29 and 30 March was completed by Lachlan Barker.  In the Pool C games Australia had an 18-11 victory against Iran followed by a 21-16 loss to Japan. The Gangurrus played brilliantly in a quarter final to convincingly defeat Mongolia 21-7.  In a Trans-Tasman semi final against New Zealand the scores were tied at 19 points apiece with 58 seconds. Stith recorded the next two points of the game, making one pointers with 35 seconds left and 25 seconds left to secure a 21-19 victory for the Gangurrus. Stith scored 13 points and took eight rebounds to record game-highs in both categories. In the final Australia faced number two seeds China who had all four games they had played in the tournament. China led the semi final 17-15 with three minutes remaining. From that point on the Gangurrus went on a 6-2 run to defeat China 21-17 and win the Asia Cup Gold medal. Higgins-Titsha scored an equal game-high 11 rebounds and took  a game-high seven rebounds in the final.

The members of the first Australian men’s team to compete at a FIBA 3×3 World Cup were Tim Coenraad, Greg Hire, Andrew Steel and Tom Wright in 2019. The ninth seeded Australian team won two of their four Pool D games and finished 10^t at the 2019 WC.

Four years later Andrew Steel was the only member of the Australian team at the 2019 World Cup that pulled on the green and gold at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 held in Vienna, Austria. Also in the 17^th seeded Gangurrus quartet in 2023 were Daniel Johnson, Mitch McCarron and Lucas Walker. Australia had one victory in their four Pool B games, defeating Slovenia 22-10. Their closest loss was in their opening game against United States 18-21.

The Australian men’s team have competed in the FIBA 3×3 Cup Asia Cup from 2017 and have been the most successful nation in the tournament during this time. The Australian men’s team have won a medal at seven  FIBA 3×3 Cup Asia Cup’s they have competed in comprised of gold in 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 along with silver in 2022 and bronze in 2018. Three nations that compete in Asia are seeded higher than the Australian Gangurrus men’s team at World Cup 2025 Mongolia (10^th seeds), China (11) and Japan (15).

The Australian Gangurrus men’s team’s pool and schedule at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

The Australian men’s Gangurrus team are in Pool B at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 and are seeded 18^th out of the 20 nations competing.

Men’s Pool B at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

Serbia (number 1 seed)

Germany (8)

Belgium (9)

Australia (18)

Madagascar (20)

Pool B schedule for Gangurrus women’s team at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025

Tuesday, June 24

17 Australia lost to 21 Germany  

17 Serbia lost to Australia 21        

Thursday, June 26

Belgium vs Australia        11.00 am Ulaanbaatar time,         1.00 pm AEST*

Australia vs Madagascar    1.05 pm  Ulaanbaatar time,      3.05 pm AEST*

* Australian Eastern Standard Time

After suffering a 17-21 loss to Germany in their opening game of FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Australian Gangurrus men’s team responded in the best possible fashion by defeating number one seeds and reigning world champions Serbia 21-17. 105 seconds into the game Serbia had amassed seven fouls to already be in the penalty. Momentum ebbed and flowed between the two teams and Serbia led 15-13 with three minutes and 54 seconds remaining. Antonio swung the contest the Australian Gangurrus way by scoring seven of the next 10 points of the game to spark a Gangurrus 8-2 run and with it a 21-17 victory to secure a monumental upset victory. Antonio finished with a game-high 10 points and team-mate Stith scored nine points. The result of Australia’s game on Thursday against Belgium will be pivotal to where the Gangurrus finish in Pool B with both nations entering the opening game of day 4 with one win and one loss.    

Writing and photographs by Dean Andrews

References

1 https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/sports/3×3-basketball

2 https://fiba3x3.com/2025/worldcup/news/things-you-might-not-know-about-fiba-3×3-world-cup-2025

3 https://www.australia.basketball/news/4236364/gangurrus-announced-for-2025-fiba-3×3-asia-cup

4  https://www.australia.basketball/news/4287566/gangurrus-named-for-fiba-3×3-world-cup

5  https://www.australia.basketball/news/4287566/gangurrus-named-for-fiba-3×3-world-cup

6 https://australia.basketball/3×3-womens-gangurrus-teams-prepare-for-jam-packed-weekend/

7 https://wnbl.basketball/sydneyflames/news/clarkes-courageous-gangurrus-claim-silver-in-china/

8 https://www.australia.basketball/news/3939164/gangurrus-gear-up-for-3×3-asia-cup

9 https://fiba3x3.com/2025/championscup/news/fiba-3×3-to-launch-major-new-competition-set-to-debut-in-bangkok

10 https://fiba3x3.com/2025/championscup/news/fiba-3×3-to-launch-major-new-competition-set-to-debut-in-bangkok