Writing and photographs by Dean Andrews

The Australian Gangurrus team of Amy Atwell, Emma Clarke, Lara McSpadden and Kristy Wallace are one of 12 nations competing in the women’s main draw at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 in Singapore this week. Australia are seeded fourth, behind China (number one seed), Mongolia (2) and Japan (3). Eight nations earnt direct entry to the women’s main draw with the other nations in this category being Philippines (5), Singapore (6), New Zealand (7) and Thailand (8). Main Draw games at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 commence on, Friday April 3. The Australian women’s team are competing in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup for the eighth time in 2026, the only edition they didn’t compete in was the inaugural tournament in 2013. At each of the seven editions of FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup they have competed in the Australia women’s team has won a medal, winning the gold medal five times – 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025, silver in 2022 and bronze in 2018. The Australian woman’s Gangurrus team have won the past three FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup titles from 2023 to 2025, however none of the quartet in the 2026 team have represented Australia at a FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup previously.

Amy Atwell playing for Perth Lynx in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 31 January 2024

Gangurrus Asia Cup 2026 team members Atwell and Wallace were teammates in the traditional five on five format of basketball on the Australian Opals team that won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. During the 2023/24 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season in Australia Clarke and McSpadden were teammates with the Sydney Flames. Three members of the Gangurrus 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team – Clarke, McSpadden and Wallace were in the quartet along with Marena Whittle that represented their nation at FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2026 held in Thailand from 13 to 15 March. The Gangurrus finished sixth out of eight teams with a record of one win and two losses. Australia’s two losses were against nations that finished on the podium at the tournament, 15-18 to gold medal winners USA and 11-16 to bronze medal winners, the Netherlands. Atwell and Clarke both made their Gangurrus debut as members of the Australian team that finished second at FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Wuhan Stop 2023.

On Wednesday 1 April and Thursday 2 April 13 nations competed in the women’s Qualifying Draw at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 to determine which four nations progressed to complete the field of 12 nations competing in the Main Draw at the tournament. The four nations that finished on top the Qualifying Draw pools to advance to the Main Draw were Kazakhstan (QD A), Malaysia (QD B), Chinese Taipei (QD C) and Tonga (QD C). FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 main draw pool games will be played on Friday 3 April and Saturday 4 March. On the final day of competition, Sunday 5 April, quarter finals, semi finals and the medal games will be played.

The article below covers:

• The history of 3×3 basketball
• 3×3 basketball rules
• The FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 tournament in general, including details on all 12 nations competing in the Main Draw
• The history of women’s basketball at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup
• The history of the Australian women’s Gangurrus 3×3 team

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 has been held nine times, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 and 2025.  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 its seventh edition in 2026. 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 Asia Cup 2026

Singapore is hosting FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup for the fifth consecutive time in 2026, having first hosted the event in 2022. The 2026 edition of FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup is again being held at the Kallang.

When the pools were announced for the women’s tournament on 25 February 2026 eight nations had secured their place in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 main draw. Another 13 nations were placed in four qualifying draws and these nations competed for the last four positions in the 12 nation Main Draw. Qualifying Draw games were held on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 April with three teams each in Qualifying Draw A, B and D and four teams in Qualifying Draw C. The top ranked nation in each of the four Qualifying Draws progressed to the Main Draw.

From Friday 3 April to Saturday 4 April each nation plays the other two nations in their Main Draw pool. In the woman’s tournament the nations in Pool A and Pool C play their pool games on Friday 3 April and the nations in Pools B and D contest their pool games on the following day, Saturday 4 April. The nations that finish first and second in each pool progress to the quarter finals which will be held on Sunday 5 April. Nations that are defeated in the quarter finals are eliminated from the tournament. The four quarter final winners progress to the semi finals and medal games which are played later on Sunday 5 April. The FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 is being around the world by the FIBA 3×3 YouTube channel.

Whilst Singapore’s five year reign as FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup hosts comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2026 tournament, they city doesn’t have long to wait to host its next 3×3 tournament. On 11 and 12 April Singapore hosts the FIBA 3X3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 where the last three spots in the field of 20 nations for the women’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2026 will be determined. Four nations from Asia are among the 17 nations that have already qualified for the women’s tournament at WC 2026 – Australia, China, Japan and Mongolia. Two nations from Asia, the Philippines and host nation Singapore are in the field of six nations competing at FIBA 3X3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 for the last three tickets at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2026 in Warsaw, Poland from Monday June 1 to Sunday June 7 2026.

The 12 nations competing in each 3×3 main tournament at AC 2026 have been split into four pools of three nations. Details on schedule and nations competing on each of the four pools at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 is provide below:

Pool A

China (number 1 seed)

Thailand (8)

Kazakhstan (9)

Pool A Schedule on Friday 3 April

(1) China vs Thailand (8)                                3.50 pm Singapore time, 6.50 pm AEDT

(1) China vs Kazakhstan (9)                          6.40 pm Singapore time, 9.40pm AEDT

(8) Thailand vs Kazakhstan (9)                     8.30 pm Singapore time, 11.30pm AEDT

 AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Time

From 2017 to 2025 China have competed at all seven editions of FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup and have finished on the podium five times and are one of three nations to win the women’s tournament during this time, joining Australia and New Zealand in this category. The only edition of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup that 2026 number 1 seeds China have missed was the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2013. China’s women’s team’s five 3×3 Asia Cup medals ranks second behind Australia with seven, and two ahead of New Zealand’s three. China’s best result was winning the gold medal the first time Singapore hosted FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in 2022. China also finished second in 2018 and won the bronze medal in 2017, 2023 and 2025. In the third place game in 2025 China defeated the Philippines 21-11, 12 months later none of the players from that team are in the AC 2026 team. China’s number 1 seeded team at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 in Singapore is comprised of A Ganajing, JianPing Zhang, Wanglai Zhang and ZhiTing Zhang.

Wanglai Zhang is the only member of China’s team that finished 10th at World Cup 2025 that is representing her nation at AC 2026. China won the gold medal at Asia Cup 2022 in Singapore, defeating Australia 14-10 in the final. 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team member ZhiTing Zhang is the only player from China’s 2022 Asia Cup gold medal winning team that is competing for her nation this week in Singapore. 195 centimetre tall ZhiTing Zhang has represented China in 3×3 basketball at several major championships, including being a member of the China teams that won the gold medal at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2019 and the bronze medal at the 2020 Paris Olympics. At World Cup 2019 China defeated Hungary 19-13 in the final to win the gold medal. ZhiTing Zhang has been a regular competing for her nation in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series had entering Asia Cup 2026 has played a total of 202 3×3 games.

Number 8 seed Thailand’s team for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 is Supavadee Kunchuan, Sroifa Phetnin, Kanokwan Prajuapsook and Sasiporn Wongtapha. Kunchuan is the only member of Thailand’s quartet that finished seventh at Asia Cup 2025 that is representing Thailand in the same location, Singapore at Ac 2026. At the 2025 edition of the tournament Thailand had a 15-16 loss to Chinese Taipei and then recorded a 17-11 victory against Mongolia to progress to the quarter finals. Thailand lost their quarter final 13-21 to eventual gold medal winners Australia.  

Three members of Thailand’s 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team – Kunchuan, Phetnin and Wongtapha were teammates along with Kwanjira Panted on the CT Tigers team that finished third at Manila Hustle 3×3 Season 4 on Saturday 7 February and Sunday 8 February. In their second Pool A game the CT Tigers recorded a 19-18 victory in overtime against Hansol Remicon. For the 3×3 Basketball Thailand International League 2026 held in Bangkok on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March the CT Tigers made one change to their team with Prajuapsook replacing Wongtapha. The CT Tigers won three of their four games at 3×3 Basketball Thailand International League to finish fifth.

Kazakhstan are the number nine seeds and  booked their spot in Pool A of the Main Draw by winning their two Qualifying Draw A games to make the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup Main Draw for the first time since 2019 in China. In their first three times competing at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup Kazakhstan progressed from finishing eighth in 2017, to fifth in 2018 and then made the final, finishing runner-up in 2019. None of the Kazakhstan that finished second behind Australia at AC 2019 are competing seven years later in Singapore this week. Dilnaz Yerkebay was superb from long range in Kazakhstan’s opening Qualifying Draw A game at AC 2026, making a game-high three two-pointers and scoring an equal game-high seven points in a 20-17 victory against Republic of Korea. In Kazakhstan’s second QD A game Yerkebay put on a long range shooting exhibition to make all four of her nation’s made two-pointers, and scored a game-high 12 points in a 21-12 victory against Vietnam. Kurdyavtseva ranked second for Kazakhstan with five points. Yerkebay and Kurdyavtseva are joined in Kazakhstan’s FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team by Shugyla Kemel and Tamila Zhakipova.

Pool B

Mongolia (2)

New Zealand (7)

Malaysia (10)

Pool B Schedule on Saturday 4 April

(2) Mongolia vs Malaysia (10)                     3.00 pm Singapore time, 6.00 pm AEDT

(7) New Zealand vs Malaysia (10)              4.50 pm Singapore time, 7.50 pm AEDT

(2) Mongolia vs New Zealand (7)                7.30 pm Singapore time, 10.30 pm AEDT

 AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Two nations in women’s Pool B at Asia Cup 2026 both finished on the podium of the same tournament in 2024 with New Zealand winning the silver medal and Mongolia winning the bronze medal. In Singapore Mongolia go in as the team with higher credentials, being ranked second and having won the silver medal at FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 on home soil in Ulaanbaater. In a Pool C game at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 New Zealand defeated Mongolia 17-10 led by a game-high seven points from Pupuke-Robati and went on to win the bronze medal. Mongolia’s star duo were held to six points between them against New Zealand comprised of four points for Bat-Erdene and two points for Onolbaatar. In the final 2026 Pool B game Mongolia play New Zealand on Saturday 4 April at 7.30 pm Singapore time / 10.30 pm AEDT time. The result of this game will be critical to the chances of Mongolia and New Zealand to progress to the medal games. Whilst it is possible for the team that loses this game to make the final four at AC 2026 they will face a more difficult path to get there than the winner of this game. 

Mongolia competed at seven of the eight FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup tournaments from 2013 to 2025 with the only exception being 2019. Mongolia’s women’s team have finished on the podium twice, winning the silver medal at the inaugural 2013 edition and the bronze medal in Singapore at the 2024 tournament. Two members of Mongolia’s bronze medal winning team at Asia Cup 2024, Arjuntsetseg Bat-Erdene and Khulan Onolbaatar are representing Mongolia two years later in the same location, Singapore at Asia Cup 2026. Mongolia’s 2024 team was completed by Tserenlkham Munkhaasikhan and Indra Ulziibat. In the third place game at Asia Cup 2024 Mongolia defeated Chines Taipei 17-10 to win the bronze medal. Ulziibat scored a team-high six points and Bat-Erdene scored five points and took a game-high 10 rebounds. Bat-Erdene was named in the Women’s Team of the Tournament after averaging 5.0 points and 7.2 rebounds (ranked third overall at the tournament) per game.

Mongolia were unable to replicate their success at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025. The Mongolian quartet of Bat-Erdene, Narangoo Erdenbayan, Bulbul Murat and Onolbaatar recorded a 21-14 victory against Chines Taipei in their opening Pool B game on 29 March. In their second Pool B game later that day things went awry with Mongolia suffering a shock 11-17 loss to Thailand. A four player Mongolian team led their quarter final 10-6 against a three player Philippines team with four minutes and 30 seconds remaining. The undermanned Philippines dominated the remainder of the game 13-5 to record a fightback four point victory, 19-15. Onolbaatar was Mongolia’s leading scorer with seven points.

At FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 the Mongolian quartet of Bat-Erdene, Munkhaasikhan, Nandinkhusel Njamjav and Onolbaatar entered the tournament as the number 12 seeds and were playing on home soil with Mongolian capital city Ulaanbaatar hosting the tournament. Mongolia won two of their first three games at World Cup 2025, defeating Brazil 16-14 and Germany 18-14. In their second game Mongolia suffered a 10-22 loss to Spain. At the conclusion of their fourth and fifth games of the tournament Mongolia displayed tremendous skill and composure under pressure to record back-to-back two point victories in overtime. In their fourth and final Pool D game against Ukraine the scores were locked at 16 points all at the end of regulation. Onolbaatar made a two-pointer to register the first and only score of overtime to secure a 18-16 victory for Mongolia. During a play-in game against China Bat-Erdene made two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to turn a one point deficit into a one point lead, 19-18. Wanglai Zhang made a one point shot for China with three seconds remaining to tie the scores at 19 all and send the game to overtime. Onolbaatar made the first score of overtime with a one-pointer and teammate Bat-Erdene followed up by making a one-pointer to secure Mongolia a 21-19 victory in overtime. 

In a quarter final at World Cup 2025 Mongolia were beaten out of the blocks to trail the United States 0-3 with nine minutes and 45 seconds remaining. Led by a game-high nine points from Onolbaatar Mongolia defeated the United States 18-15. Mongolia led for most of their semi final against Poland and looked to be strongly placed when they led by three points 16-13 with one minute and 30 seconds remaining. Poland made the next three scores of the game, all with one-pointers to draw level on 16 points apiece with 14 seconds left. Neither team scored in the dying stages of regulation and amazingly for the third time in four games Mongolia’s game went to overtime. Telenga made a one-pointer to give Poland a one point lead, 16-17. Bat-Erdene responded by making a two-pointer to send the home crowd into raptures as Mongolia recorded an 18-17 overtime victory. Bat-Erdene scored a game-high 11 points at a shooting efficiency of 79% and took a team-high seven rebounds. In the final the number one ranked team in the world, the Netherlands opened up a five point lead, 6-1 over Mongolia with six and a half minutes remaining. The Netherlands remained in control to record a 15-9 victory. For her role in Mongolia’s fairytale run on home soil in Ulaanbaatar to make the 2025 World Cup Final Onolbaatar was named in the Team of the Tournament, averaging 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

A trio from Mongolia’s silver medal winning team at 3×3 World Cup 2025 – Bat-Erdene, Njamjav and Onolbaatar are teammates suiting up for their nation again in Singapore for 3×3 Asia Cup 2026. Mongolia’s AC 2026 team is completed by Erdenbayan who was a member of her nation’s 2025 AC team. Mongolia are the only team in the women’s tournament at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 that has a player in the top 20 of the FIBA 3×3 Women’s world rankings at 2 April 2026, having two players in this category. Onolbaatar is ranked 15th in the world closely followed by Mongolian teammate Bat-Erdene in 19^th position.  

The New Zealand woman’s 3×3 team are competing at their eighth consecutive FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup at the 2026 edition of the tournament, having commenced this sequence in 2017. New Zealand have finished on the podium three times at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, winning the gold medal in 2018 in China and back-to-back silver medals in 2023 and 2024 in Singapore, the city that is hosting the 2026 event. New Zealand’s silver medal winning team at Asia Cup 2023 was Krystal Leger-Walker, Lauryn Hippolite, Sharne Pupuke-Robati and Esra McGoldrick. New Zealand won all four games in Qualifying Draw A by at least 10 points to advance to the main draw. In their opening 2023 Pool game New Zealand played Mongolia, a nation that is again in their pool at Asia Cup 2026. Led by a game-high seven points from 2026 AC team member Pupuke-Robati New Zealand defeated Mongolia 17-10 in their 2023 Pool C game. New Zealand won their first four games in the main draw at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 by at least seven points, culminating in a 21-8 semi final win against Thailand to progress to the final. In the first two minutes and three seconds of the final Australia opened up a six point lead 7-1. Australia defeated New Zealand 21-11, resulting in the kiwi’s winning the silver medal. Pupuke-Robati was selected in the Team of the Tournament after averaging 6.6 points (ranked 3^rd overall at the tournament) and 6.2 rebounds (7^th) per game.

A trio from New Zealand’s silver medal winning FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 team represented their nation in Singapore a year later at AC 2024, Hippolite, Pupuke-Robati and McGoldrick. The one change to the team was Gabriella Fotu replacing fellow guard Leger-Walker. In a thrilling 2024 semi final New Zealand led Chinese Taipei by four points 14-10 with one minute and 35 seconds remaining. Chinese Taipei finished strongly but New Zealand were able to hold on to win by one point, 16-15. Three New Zealand players each scored at least five points, Foto with a team-high six points along with five points each for Pupuke-Robati and McGoldrick. With seven minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the final New Zealand and Australia were tied on three points apiece. A 5-0 Australian run over the next three minutes established a decisive five point lead. Australia went on to record a victory by that five point margin, 18-13. For the second consecutive year Pupuke-Robati  was selected in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup Team of the Tournament, averaging 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

At FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 in Singapore New Zealand’s team was Azure Anderson, Eva Langton, Sharne Pupuke-Robati and Kaylee Smiler. New Zealand were seeded 8^th and were in Pool A along with top seeds China and 16^th seeds the Republic of Korea. New Zealand started the tournament well to upset top seeds China 18-17 led by a game-high 12 points and team-high six rebounds from Pupuke-Robati. New Zealand’s superior shooting efficiency, 55% to China’s 47% proved critical in getting the victory. In the win Smiler suffered an injury which ruled her out of the 2degrees Tall Ferns second game. With a three player team New Zealand suffered a 9-18 loss to the four player Republic of Korea line-up. This resulted in all three teams in Pool A having one win and one loss. Total points scored in Pool A games determined the finishing order and New Zealand were the team that missed out on a quarter final berth, ranking third with 27 points behind China – 36 points, and Republic of Korea – 30 points.

New Zealand’s women’s team for Asia Cup 2026 is Anderson, Fotu, Langton and Pupuke-Robati. All members of the quartet have represented New Zealand at the tournament previously. Fotu and Pupuke-Robati were teammates on New Zealand’s silver medal winning team at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024. Anderson, Langton and Pupuke-Robati were teammates on New Zealand’s 2025 AC team. Pupuke-Robati has an incredible record at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup having won back-to-back silver medals with New Zealand in 2023 and 2024, earning Team of the Tournament selection at both AC’s.  Pupuke-Robati played her debut WNBL season for Adelaide Lightning in 2025/26 and ranked fourth for her club with 4.2 rebounds per game.

Malaysia enter the Main Draw as the number 10 seeds, having won both of their Qualifying Draw B games on. Malaysia are competing at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup women’s Main Draw for the fifth time in 2026 with the highlight being a second placed finish at the 2017 tournament where they lost a competitive final to Australia 15-21. None of the four players from Malaysia’s most recent main draw appearance in 2024 are on their nation’s team two years later. In Malayasia’s opening Qualifying Draw B game yesterday, 2 April Suet Foo (9 points) and Fook Yap (six points) scored 15 of their nations 16 points in a three point victory against India. This duo again did the bulk of the scoring in a 21-9 victory against Turkmenistan with Yap scoring a team-high nine points, just ahead of Foo with eight points. Joining Foo and Yap in the quartet for Malaysia’s 2026 AC team are SinJie Tan and  Hui Pang.

Pool C

Japan (3)

Singapore (6)

Chinese Taipei (11)

Pool C Schedule on Friday 3 April

(3) Japan vs  Singapore (6)                            4.25 pm Singapore time, 7.25 pm AEDT

(3) Japan vs Chinese Taipei (11)                  7.05 pm Singapore time, 10.05pm AEDT

(6) Singapore vs Chinese Taipei (11)         8.55 pm Singapore time, 11.55pm AEDT

 AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Japan are competing at their seventh consecutive FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, having commenced this sequence in 2018. Japan have been very consistent to finish from second to fifth at their first six FIBA 3×3 Asia Cups. At FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup Japan have finished on the podium twice, winning the bronze medal at the 2019 edition in China and won silver at AC 2025 in Singapore. Japan’s team at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 was Fatoumanan Nishi, Yuki Noguchi, Fuyuko Takahashi and Aya Tsurumi. Japan were convincing in the first four games of the tournament to win each game by at least seven points, culminating in a 22-9 semi final victory against the Philippines. Takahashi scored 12 points and took seven rebounds to set game-highs in both categories in the semi-final victory. Takahashi pit on a long-range shooting exhibition to make three of four two-pointers at an accuracy of 75%. Japan led the final against Australia 9-8 with six minutes and 15 seconds remaining. Australia responded with a 5-1 run to gain a three-point lead and won on to win the final by four points 21-17. Takahashi scored a team-high six points and each player for Japan scored at least three points in the final. Takahashi averaged 7.8 points – ranked 2^nd overall at the tournament to earn Team of the Tournament selection.

 At FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Jakarta Stop 2025 on Thursday 24 July and Friday July 25 Japan’s quartet was comprised of Aoi Katsura, Aya Tsurumi, Kiho Miyashita and Miku Takahashi. Tsurami was the only member from Japan’s 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 silver medal winning team competing at the tournament. On the opening day of competition Japan won all four games they played comprised of two Qualifying Draw B games along with two Pool D games. Japan defeated the Philippines 18-15 in a quarter final and had a 17-16 win against Ulaanbaatar in a semi final to advance to the final. Japan defeated Australia 21-13 in the final led by seven points from Takahashi and six points for Katsura. Japan’s team at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 includes a duo from their silver medal winning AC 2025 team Fuyuko Takahashi and Aya Tsurumi. Completing the Asia Cup 2026 team is Maho Awatani and Miku Takahashi. Fuyuko Takahashi has 210 games FIBA 3×3 experience

The first time the Singapore women’s team competed at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup was on home soil in 2022. Singapore’s five year stint as host of FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup comes to an end in 2026 with the 2027 tournament to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Singapore’s best result from the four times they have competed at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 is 10^th twice, 2023 and 2024. 

At FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 the Singapore women’s quartet of Lydia Yi, XingYue Han, Jermaine Ying and Choy Tang were knocked out at the pool phase. Singapore lost both their Pool C games, 6-22 to Japan and 10-21 to Vietnam. A trio from Singapore’s 2025 AC Cup will again represent their nation on home soil – Yi, Han and Ying. The one change to the 2025 team is Lai Matilda replacing Tang. Japan are the strong favourites to finish on top of Pool C. It is likely that the final Pool C game between sixth seeds Singapore and 11^th seeds Chinese Taipei at Friday April 3 at 8.55 pm Singapore time / 11.55 pm AEDT will determine which nation from the pool finishes second and advances to the quarter finals.

The quartet of Lydia Yi, XingYue Han, Jermaine Ying and Lai Matilda will be representing Singapore in two 3×3 tournaments on home soil in the next fortnight. Next weekend on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April Singapore is hosting FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2026. Host nation Singapore is one two Asian nations along with the Philippines competing in a field of six nations at the women’s tournament. Singapore are the third seeds and are in Pool B along with the Philippines (number 2 seeds) and Brazil. Singapore’s two Pool B games at FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 are on Saturday 11 April against the Philippines at 5.00pm local time and Brazil (6) at 8.05 pm. The three nations in Pool A are Hungary (1), Lithuania (4) and Egypt (5). The three highest finishes at FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 will book their ticket to FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2026, completing the field of 20 nations.

Chinese Taipei won all three Qualifying Draw C games to book a berth in Pool C of the Main Draw. It is the fifth consecutive time and seventh time overall that Chinese Taipei are competing in the Main Draw at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, having a best result of fourth place at the 2024 tournament in Singapore. During their three Qualifying Draw C games on Wednesday 1 April Chinese Taipei were convincing, winning each game by at least eight points, culminating in a 19-11 victory against Hong Kong, China, led by an eual game-high seven points from Chun-Hsi Chiu and Chen-I Li. Their two Chinese Taipei teammates at AC 2026 are Yu Chang and Yu-Tsz Lee.

Pool D

Australia (4)

Philippines (5)

Tonga (12)

Pool D Schedule on Saturday 4 April

(4) Australia vs  Tonga (12)                            3.25 pm Singapore time, 6.25 pm AEDT

(5) Philippines vs Tonga (12)                        5.15 pm Singapore time, 8.15pm AEDT

(4) Australia vs (5) Philippines                     8.05 pm Singapore time, 11.05pm AEDT

 AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Time

The Australian Gangurrus have been the most dominant nation in the women’s tournament at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup having won a medal at all seven editions of the tournament they have competed in from 2017 to 2025. Australia are attempting to win their fourth consecutive AC gold medal in 2026 and sixth gold medal overall, having won the tournament in 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

All four members of the Australian Gangurrus team for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 are making their tournament debut this year but have previous experience representing Australia in 3×3 basketball. Three members of the AC 2026 team, Emma Clarke, Lara McSpadden and Kristy Wallace were in the Australian Gangurrus team along with Marena Whittle that competed at FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2026. For AC 2026 Atwell has been brought into the team replacing Whittle. At Champions Cup 2026 Australia had a 19-5 victory against Madagascar and two losses, 15-18 to gold medal winners USA and 11-16 to bronze medal winners, the Netherlands. A trio in the Gangurrus AC 2026 team played in the 2025/26 WNBL season, Atwell for Perth Lynx, Clarke for Bendigo Spirit and front court player McSpadden for the Sydney Flames. In the traditional five on five format of basketball Atwell and Wallace were teammates on the Australia Opals team that won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

In 2025 the Australian Gangurrus played the Philippines during the Pool Stage at FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 on 29 March and at Jakarta Stop during the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2025 on 24 July. Australia defeated the Philippines 21-8 at AC 2025 and had a 20-11 victory in Jakarta. None of the players that were in the Gangurrus quartet at either tournament are representing Australia at Asia Cup 2026. Experienced guard Mikka Cacho is the only Philippines player from these two 2025 tournaments that is representing their nation at Asia Cup 2026.

At Asia Cup 2025 Ally Wilson led Australia with nine points closely followed by Marena Whittle (8 points) in the Gangurrus 21-8 victory against the Philippines. Cacho and Jhazmin Joson scored an equal team-high three points for the Philippines. Cacho made every shot she attempted, making two of two one point shots and her only free throw. At Jakarta Stop during the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2025 Australia defeated the Philippines 20-11. Philippines guard Cacho made three of four one point shots at an accuracy of 75% to be her nations second highest scorer with three points, behind Kaye Pingol (4). Australia gained the ascendency in the front court with Hank scoring a game-high seven points and Maley taking a game-high 12 rebounds.

At Asia Cup 2026 the fourth seeded Australian Gangurrus will again be looking to utilise their size advantage against the fifth seeded Philippines in their Pool D game. The Philippines quartet at Asia Cup 2026 is Cheska Apag (164 centimetres tall), Afril Bernadino (173), Mikka Cacho (171) and Quinn Rosa (183). The Gangurrus new-look team for FIBA Asia cup 2026 is Amy Atwell (183), Emma Clarke (186), Lara McSpadden (191) and Kristy Wallace (183). The equal shortest players on the Australian team, Atwell and Wallace are both 183 centimetres tall which is the same height as the Philippines tallest player Rosa which highlights how much of a size advantage Australia have over the Philippines.

One area that the Philippines have a significant advantage over Australia is experience playing 3×3 basketball games. Each member of the Gangurrus quartet have played less than 25 3×3 games entering Asia Cup 2026 led by McSpadden with 22 games. The Philippines have a duo with more than 150 3×3 games experience each, Cacho (202 games) and Bernadino (160).

Cacho is the only member of the Philippines team that finished fourth at FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Singapore that is suiting up for her nation a year later at the same location for AC 2026. With five minutes and 40 seconds remaining in a quarter final at 3×3 Asia Cup 2025 a three player Philippines team trailed a four player Mongolian team 3-10 with Cacho being the Philippines lone scorer to that stage. Cacho was the catalyst for an undermanned Philippines team to have a remarkable fight back to go on a 16-5 run to record an upset 19-15 victory against Mongolia. Cacho scored a game-high nine points and took a team-high six rebounds to inspire her team to the four point victory. In the third place game the Philippines lost to China 11-21. 

After FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 concludes the Philippines will be remaining in Singapore to compete in another 3×3 tournament, FIBA 3X3 World Cup Qualifier 2026. Six nations will be competing at the tournament with the final three tickets to FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Warsaw, Poland up for grabs. The Philippines are the number two seeds for FIBA 3X3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 and are in Pool B along with Singapore (3) and Brazil (6). The Philippines’ games at FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifier 2026 are on Saturday 11 April against Singapore at 5.00 pm local time in host city Singapore and at 8.55 pm against Brazil (6). The three nations in Pool A are Hungary (1), Lithuania (4) and Egypt (5).

After winning two Qualifying Draw D games Tonga enter have main the Main Draw of FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup for the first time restricting their opponents to a total of 11 points across the two games. Tonga started their QD D campaign yesterday, 2 April with a 13-4 victory against the Maldives led by a game-high seven points from Lesila Finau. In Tonga’s 15-7 victory against Macua Finau scored a game-high six points with Ana Enari and Makelli Ika scoring four points each. Tonga’s team for AC 2026 is completed by Kara-Lynne Enari.

Australian Gangurrus women’s 3×3 team for the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026

Player                                   Number          Position                           2026 NBL1 Team

Amy Atwell                              ?                   Guard                               Rockingham Flames (West)

Emma Clarke                       77                   Forward                          Ringwood Hawks (South)

Lara McSpadden                 14                   Forward/Centre            Keilor Thunder (South)

Kristy Wallace                          3                    Guard                               Knox Raiders (South)

Coach – Damon Lowery

The quartet in the Australian Gangurrus Women’s team for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 are all playing in an NBL1 Conference during the 2026 season including a trio that are playing in NBL1 South – Clarke (Ringwood Hawks) McSpadden (Keilor Thunder) and Wallace (Knox Raiders). Wallace is playing her second consecutive season with the Knox Raiders, having been a member of the club’s 2025 NBL1 South Championship winning team. Atwell is playing for the Rockingham Flames in NBL1 West.       

Gangurrus Asia Cup 2026 team members Atwell and Wallace were teammates in the traditional five on five format of basketball on the Australian Opals team that won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Atwell and Clarke both made their Gangurrus debut as members of the Australian team that finished second at FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Wuhan Stop 2023. Forward Clarke was also a member of the Gangurrus team that finished second at Yichang Stop 2023 and represented Australia in 3×3 on home soil against China during Ford Ballin’ 24 in Melbourne during early July. McSpadden was a member of the Gangurrus team that finished second at  FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Chengdu Stop 2025.

Emma Clarke playing for the Sydney Flames against the Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 12 January 2024

Three members of the Gangurrus 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team – Clarke, McSpadden and Wallace were in the quartet along with Marena Whittle that represented their nation at FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2026 held in Thailand from 13 to 15 March. The Gangurrus finished sixth out of eight teams with a record of one win and two losses. Wallace made her Gangurrus debut at the tournament. As a junior Wallace represented Australia in the U18 girls and U18 mixed tournaments at the FIBA 3×3 2012 U18 World Championships. The Australian U18 girls team won the bronze medal.  

Kristy Wallace playing for Melbourne Boomers on 6 March 2024 in game 3 of the semi against Southside Flyers at Melbourne Sports Centres – Parkville

All four members of the Australian Gangurrus for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 have experience playing in the WNBL. During the 2023/24 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season in Australia Clarke and McSpadden were teammates with the Sydney Flames. Guards Atwell and Wallace have both errant All-WNBL selection with Wallace being selected in the First Team playing for the Melbourne Boomers in 2022/23 and Atwell being selected on the All-WNBL Second Team for her performances playing for Perth Lynx in 2023/24. Lara McSpadden has been a member of two WNBL teams that have won a WNBL Championship, the Sydney Flames in 2016/17 and Townsville Fire in 2022/23.   

Lara McSpadden playing for Townsville Fire against Melbourne Boomers at the State Basketball Centre on 7 December 2022

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 Gangurrus regular 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 reversed the earlier result 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. More detail on the history of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup is provided later in this article.

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 Marena 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 with most of the 15 Stops being held in Europe and Asia. 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 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. 

The Australian Gangurrus 3×3 women’s team’s history from 2022 to 2026

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 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2018 – 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 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 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.”2

Amy Atwell playing for Perth Lynx against the Melbourne Boomers at Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville on 29 January 2023

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.”3 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 China 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 of Maley, Mansfield, Whittle and Wilson for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 as the gold medal winning Asia Cup 2023 team 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.”4

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 had 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 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 Gangurrus team member 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 women’s 3×3 series.

Australia competed in their second 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.”5 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.“6 The first five editions of the Champions Cup from 2025 to 2029 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 was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 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 was the sixth year that the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series was 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 with 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 controlled the remainder of the game and recorded 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 and 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.

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

Australia were the number 16 seeds for FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2025 held in Ulaanbaatar from June 23 to 29. The same quarter that won the gold medal at Asia Cup 2025 represented Australia at World Cup 2023, Maley, Sowah, Whittle and Ally Wilson. In their opening game of WC 2025 Wilson made three0f four two pointers and scored a game-high eight points and Sowah made all six one-pointers and scored seven points in a 21-12 victory against China. Australia held a narrow lead for most of their second Pool A game against Poland and extended their lead to five points, 19-14 with one minute and 55 seconds remaining. Poland were able to trim the deficit to two points, 18-20 with 51 seconds remaining. A one pointer made by Wilson with 25 seconds left gave Australia a 21-18 victory. In the win Whittle scored a team-high eight points, just ahead of Wilson with seven points. The Gangurrus had a convincing 21-5 victory against Madagascar led by eight points from Wilson and seven points from Whittle.

During their final Group A game Australia looked to be in control leading Italy 16-11 with four minutes and 40 seconds remaining. Italy responded in emphatic fashion with the next five points of the game in less than a minute to level the scores at 16 points apiece with three minutes and 54 seconds remaining. Two made two-pointers from Wilson extended Australia’s lead to three points, 20-17 with three minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Two one-pointers by Raelin D’Alie trimmed Italy’s deficit to one point, 19-20 with two minutes and 59 seconds remaining.   On the next possession Wilson made a one-pointer to secure a 21-19 victory for the Gangurrus. Wilson made three of six two-pointers and scored a game-high 10 points. Australia finished on top of Pool A, winning all four games and scoring a total of 84 points. In a quarter final the Gangurrus played the number one ranked team in the World, the Netherlands who had finished third in Pool B with two wins and two losses after losing their first two games of the tournament. In a play-in game against Hungary the Netherlands returned to form to record a convincing 21-9 victory. With six minutes remaining in a quarter final the Gangurrus trailed the Netherlands 5-7.  With an even team performance the Netherlands defeated Australia 21-11. Whittle scored a team-high five points and Maley took a team-high seven rebounds.

On 24 and 25 June the Australian Gangurrus competed at Jakarta Stop, their fourth Women’s Series 2025 event. From these three events the Gangurrus made the final twice, finishing runner-up at the opening Stop in Chengdu and won Ulaanbaatar Stop. The Australian Gangurrus team of Hank, Maley, Sowah and Whittle were the number two seeds at Jakarta Stop, Japan were the top seeds. Australia won their two Pool B games, having a 21-5 victory against hosts Jakarta and defeated the Philippines 20-11. During the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2025 the Australian Gangurrus competed at  four stops and made the final on three occasions, winning the Ulaanbaatar Stop and finishing second at the Chengdu and Jakarta stops.

The Australian Gangurrus were one of eight nations that competed at FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2026 held in Bangkok, Thailand from March 13 to 15. Experienced Gangurrus player Marena Whittle was joined in the Gangurrus Champions Cup team by Emma Clarke, Lara McSpadden and Kristy Wallace. Australia were in Pool A along with the Netherlands, USA and Madagascar.

Three members of the Gangurrus 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 team – Clarke, McSpadden and Wallace were in the quartet along with Marena Whittle that represented their nation at FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup 2026 held in Thailand from 13 to 15 March. The Gangurrus finished sixth out of eight teams with a record of one win and two losses. Australia’s two losses were against nations that finished on the podium at the tournament, 15-18 to gold medal winners USA and 11-16 to bronze medal winners, the Netherlands. In the opening Pool A game the Gangurrus were tied on four points apiece with five minutes remaining against reigning FIBA 3×3 World Cup winners, the Netherlands. A Netherlands team including Noortje Driessen and Janis Boonstra were able to gain the ascendency as the game progressed and record a 16-11 victory against Australia. Wallace scored a team-high five points and took a game-high nine rebounds. The Gangurrus had a convincing 19-5 victory against Madagascar led by eight points and 11 rebounds from Clarke to set game-highs in both categories.

In their final Pool A game Australia played the United States. The game featured three players that have earnt All-WNBL selection playing in Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League, Australian guard Wallace and USA duo Veronica Burton and Naz Hillmon. In her debut WNBL season with the Melbourne Boomers in 2023/24 Hillmon was teammates with Wallace. Playing for the Boomers Wallace was selected on the All-WNBL First Team in 2022/23. In both of her WNBL seasons Hillmon was selected on an All-WNBL Team, the Second Team with the Melbourne Boomers in 2023/24 and the First Team with the Southside Flyers in 2024/25. As a starter in 2024/25 Burton was a member of the Bendigo Spirit team that won the WNBL Championship. Burton was selected on the All-WNBL First Team and won the league’s Golden Hands Award. In the game at Champions Cup 2026 Whittle and Clarke scored an equal team-high five points for Australia in a 15-18 loss to the United States. Allisha Gray scored six points and Hillmon scored five points and took a game-high 10 rebounds to help USA dominate the boards 24-9.    

Veronica Burton playing for Bendigo Spirit against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

Women’s FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup history

The FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup is being held for the ninth time in 2026, having first been held in Doha, Qatar on 15 and 16 May 2013 when it was known as the FIBA Asia 3×3 Championship. At the 2013 tournament India won the gold medal, defeating Mongolia 21-14 in the final. Turkmenistan defeated Hong Kong 10-8 in the third place match to win the bronze medal.

In the FIBA Federation rankings Australia and New Zealand are both classified as being in the Oceania zone and competed in Oceania Championships against other nations from this region. Five nations competed at the 2015 FIBA Women’s 3×3 Oceania Championships held on the Gold Coast – Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa. The Australian team comprised of current team member Anneli Maley along with Alexandra Sharp, Elizabeth Tonks and Chantel Horvat 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. Cook Islands finished third at the tournament.

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 are able to face stronger opposition and a wider variety of opponents and playing styles competing in the Asia Cup. 

At the 2017 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 27 to 29 October the Australian team comprised of Isabelle Bourne, Sarah McAppion, Chantella Perera and Carlie Smith were undefeated in their five games to win the gold medal. In the final 9^th seeds Australia defeated 6^th seeds Malaysia 21-15. China defeated India 21-12 in the bronze medal game. Australian 16-year-old Bourne was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2017 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.

The 2018 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup held in Shenzen, China from April 27 to May 1 featured an epic encounter between trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand. After their semi-final went to overtime New Zealand guard Micaela Cocks made a two point shot to secure a 20-18 victory over Australia. The New Zealand team comprised of Cocks, Antonia Farnworth, Chevannah Paalvast and Kalani Purcell defeated host nation China 14-11 in the final to win the gold medal. In the bronze medal game the Australian team comprised of Bec Cole, Keely Froling, Maddie Garrick and Carlie Smith had a convincing victory over Japan 17-5. Cocks was named the tournament’s MVP and was joined in the team of the tournament by Australia captain Cole. Australia’s record at the tournament was seven wins and one loss, winning both games in the qualifying draw to progress to the main draw where they had a record of four wins and one loss.

At the 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup held in Changsha, China from 22 to 26 May the Australian team comprised of 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. Japan defeated Mongolia 21-14 in the third place game to win the bronze medal. Australian guard Cole was named the tournament’s MVP.

From 2017 to 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup was held annually. Due to COVID-19 the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup was not held in 2020 or 2021. Australia had a new look team of Anneli Maley, Lauren Mansfield, Lauren Scherf and Marena Whittle at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup held in Singapore from 6 to 10 July. The three medal winners 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. In the battle for third place Indonesia defeated Japan 21-17 to win the bronze medal.

Singapore was again the host city for the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023 held from 29 March to 2 April. The Australian Gangurrus quartet of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson dominated to win the AC 2023 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 the 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.

At FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 held in Singapore from 27 to 31 March the Australian Gangurrus quartet was again comprised of Maley, Whittle, Mansfield and Wilson. The 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. In the third place game Mongolia defeated Chinese Taipei 17-10. Two members of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 All-Tournament team are playing at the 2026 edition of the tournament, Mongolia’s Ariuntsetseg Bat-Erdene and New Zealand’s Sharne Pupuke-Robati. This duo will be on opposition teams in the final women’s Pool B game when Mongolia play New Zealand on Saturday 4 April at 7.30 pm Singapore time / 10.30 pm AEDT.

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 in a semi final 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. China had a convincing 21-11 victory against Philippines in the third place game to win the bronze medal.  

Australia have been the most successful nation at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in both the men’s and women’s tournament despite not being eligible to play in the 2013 tournament. Australia have won the women’s tournament five times, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 and have won a medal at all tournaments they have competed in. The Australian women’s team has also won one silver medal (2022) and one bronze medal (2018). No other nation was won the women’s FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup multiple times and only two other nations have won medals at multiple tournaments, China and New Zealand. China have won five medals comprised of one gold in 2022, one silver and three bronze in 2017, 2023 and 2025. New Zealand won gold in 2018 and bronze in 2023 and 2024.

Australian Gangurrus men’s 3×3 team for FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026

At the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup the Australian men’s team have finished on the podium at all seven tournaments they have competed in and have a medal tally of five gold, one silver and one bronze. Australia are one of two nations to have won the men’s FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup multiple times along with two time winners Mongolia who won the gold medal in 2017 and 2023. The Australian men’s Gangurrus team are attempting to win FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup for the third consecutive time in 2026, having won the gold medal in 2024 and 2025. If the men’s Gangurrus team win the gold medal at AC 2026 it will be the second time that they have won three consecutive gold medals at the event, having previously achieved this feat with a hat-tick of gold in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Australia are the seventh seeds at Asia Cup 2026 and their team is comprised of Jonah Antonio, Samuel McDaniel, Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Stith. Antonio and Stith were both members of the Gangurrus team that won the gold medal at Asia Cup 2025, defeating China 21-19 in the final. Stith won the Tournament’s MVP Award and scored 13 points in the semi final win against New Zealand.  

Writing and photographs by Dean Andrews

References

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

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

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

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

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

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