The first 3X3 Masters tournament of 2017 is a wrap!

On the fifth of june, we had our first 3X3 Masters tournament of a busy summer. In Sporthal ‘t Wit Zand in Melsele, 37 teams showed up and battled eachother for a spot in the finals in Antwerp.

Iben Romeijnders of Antwerp Giants and Thierry Marien of BS Waregem won the 2K Shooting Contest in their respective categories. If you want to look back at the results and standings of the tournament, you can click here.

These teams were able to secure a spot in the Finals in Antwerp in their categories (winners in bold) :

• 18+ Elite Men: Puus (BEL) / Ballistik (FRA) / Team Utrecht (NED) / Leadersportz (BEL)
• 18+ Women: Open Run VAC (NED) / No Name (GER) / Unbreakable (BEL) / Open Run Holland U18 (NED)
• U18 Boys: Ball Brothers (BEL) / From Down Town (BEL)
• U15: A’ Town Ballers Lars (BEL) / Lil Baller Gang (BEL) / Pleuris 3 (BEL) / Ballbro’s (BEL)
• U13: The Blue Demons (BEL) / Condors (BEL) / Beavers (BEL) / Kyyoquni (BEL)

There will not be a 18+ Recreational Men category at 3X3 Masters Finals, but these guys do deserve recognition for their play at 3X3 Masters Melsele. The top 4 teams in 18+ Recreational Men are: Swift Sports Training (BEL) / Condors (BEL) / Red Assault (BEL) / Red Warriors (BEL)

Let’s take a look at the best pictures, taken by our awesome house photographer King Chan.

• The German James Harden found his way to the gym in Melsele.

• Our MC Lieven again had a tough time staying away from the girls…

• Even Pau Gasol found some time to drop by in Melsele.

• When you’re finally back on 3X3 Masters ground.

• 3X3-referee Yves supports world peace.

• Young blood Iben took away the 2K shootout trophy.

• When you make a clear foul, but the referee missed it. 

• Get that weak stuff out of here! 

• Nick Celis from Oxaco and Sam Caron from Melsele going at it 1 on 1. 

• You’re never too young to start ballin’. 

• Good old Ian Hanavan showing off his skillset on the low block. 

• “What do you mean ref? Foul? C’mon man!”

• Thierry Mariën of Waregem was crowned 3-point shootout champion, with 17 3’s in 1 minute! 

• Some strong Dutch women’s teams showed up for the tournament. 

• When coach says ‘play with your head’ and you take things a bit too serious. 

• Jonas Verlinden doing his best Barack Obama ‘not bad’ meme impression. 

• Kick game strong. 

• If we had an award for ‘best gameface’…

• That moment when you hit the tournament-winning buzzer beater. Stijn Stevens wins it for Puus with a crazy 3.

• The ref squad again did a fabolous job.

• That’s some pretty strong hair gel, my man. 

• Passion for the game. 

Our photographer King has an eye for detail and a quick click. Let’s check out the best pics he took during our summer tournaments. What’s your favourite?

1. Team Foerts

It’s always fun around with Mr. Foerts and his squad. He was repping the Belgian team at the U20 European Championship this summer and made sure y’all knew about it with his team wearing his jersey at 3X3 Masters Antwerp.

2. Superman flying high

When you got hops like this. You’re top 10. Period.

3. When you can’t believe what you just saw…

4. Chicks got game

Points for being regulars at 3X3 Masters, points for the smiles, points for their game and extra points for the message these chicks are sending. And yes, that is Belgian Cat Julie Vanloo right there.

5. 3X3 Masters is…

…where Team Belgium meets the local guys, where an upset is never too far away, where you and I play. We see you Leroy & Marcus!

6. Nice glasses bruh!

How ’bout those shades huh? Golden glasses for the teams that are making it to the Finals! Rock ’em like a rockstar.

7. Gameface ON!

Best. gameface. ever.

8. Shoes are overrated

Who needs shoes to compete at the Shoot-Out?

9. Future stars putting in work. 

We just love young ballers at 3X3 Masters. The future shines bright for those who put in the work.

10. They go hard, every time.

And that’s why they are wearing ‘Best Crew Ever’ t-shirts.

EXTRA: The ‘Oeh-this-is-too-hard’- face of Nick G.

This one is too funny. It just had to be in this list. Sorry Nick.

EXTRA: On a date?

The smiles, holding hands, Titanic-like staring into the sky… If we didn’t know any better, we’d say it’s a date between Jonas Foerts and Thierry Marien right there.

EXTRA: What’s up dog? 

You might remember Marjorie Carpreaux pulling out some slick passes at 3X3 Masters Zaventem, playing for Team Belgium. Well, she did the same thing at the FIBA 3X3 European Championship Qualifier in Amsterdam last week. Handles so sweet, FIBA had to make a highlight mixtape about it.

In life, just as in a ball game, things don’t always go as planned…

We had some bad news earlier this week from the city of Kortrijk. Seems like our venue for 3X3 Masters Kortrijk isn’t available on July 9th because of other activities. It’s like you’re about to give an assist, but the other team steals the ball. Kinda like #10 on this highlight list:

You get the point here: Malone blocked the lay-up after the ball was stolen. So the good news is: 3X3 Masters in Kortrijk will be played 2 weeks later, on July 23. The venue remains Veemarkt.

You have 2 more weeks to sign up! Let’s do this!

MC Lieven is pulling some serious trick shots out of his sleeve in this video. Prove you can do better and win some cool prizes!

WHAT TO DO?

HOW TO WIN?
Make sure your video is creative and original. The more dificult the trickshot is, the more points you score!
All video’s will be carefully watched and judged by our expert Thierry De Ridder. He will announce the winner on July 11th.

PRIZES TO WIN?

There is no shortage of things to see at 3X3 Masters. Besides 3X3 Basketball, there are side contests, short animations, spontanious dance-offs, a crazy MC hopping around… The list goes on. And still, there are some players that draw a bit more attention than others. If they step on court, the crowd watches their every move. Here are 5 players to watch at 3X3 Masters:

1. Leroy Anthonis

It’s hard to not see Leroy at our tournaments. Standing a notch above the rest with his 2m05 and the wingspan of an airplane there’s a potential blockparty at every game he plays. Together with his Under Armour team, he has won multiple 3X3 Masters events and it earned him the #1 spot in the official Belgium FIBA 3X3 Rankings and #405 in the World.

Leroy (middle) with his Under Armour buddies Enoch Derby (left) and Barry Dictus (right)

Leroy has been part of the 3X3 Belgian Lions at the 2014 European Championship, where Belgium finished 6th place. He will be a 3X3 Belgian Lion again this year when they play the 3X3 European Championship Qualifier in Poitiers, France on July 1-2.

See Leroy’s 3X3 Planet profile

2. Julie Vanloo

Julie Vanloo needs no introduction. She’s a badass Belgian Cat, with moves that make you think of White Chocolate (for those who don’t know White Chocolate, watch this video). Besides the anklebreakers, no-look and behind-the-back passes, Loewie hits lots of floaters and knocks down the occasional threepointer. In other words, she’s a nightmare to defend on court.

 Julie at the NBA 2K Shoot Out Contest at 3X3 Masters X-mas

She’s been playing at 3X3 Masters since the early days and hasn’t stopped to amaze us. If you wanna see her in action, look for the Chicks Got Game team, with Astrid Roekens, Lara Moucheron and Karen Hendrickx. Or just follow the ooohs and aaaahs.

 See Julie’s 3X3 Planet profile

3. Gilles Matho

Gilles Matho popped on our radar a few summers ago. Coming all the way from Verviers, Gilles uses 3X3 Masters to test his new freestyle moves and mess around with his defenders. It’s easy to recognize the often-sleeved streetballer rocking his mohawk and colourfull personality. Don’t underestimate his basketball skills though. Gilles has a quick first step and a high floater to beat his opponent and isn’t too shabby with his passing-skills either.

Gilles busting moves at 3X3 Masters Kortrijk last year

in Team Blockbuster is where you’ll find Gilles, playing all over Belgium, the Netherlands and even Switzerland. Make sure to check some of his highlights on his Facebook page, they might come in handy if you ever meet him on court.

See Gilles’ 3X3 Planet profile

4. Zachary Ouango 

Zachary Ouango is one of those players who you just need to keep an eye on at all times. Explosive, athletic and rim-rocking are 3 words that fit him well. Zac was one of the most entertaining players at our tournaments last year, playing at Kortrijk, Leuven and the X-mas edition in Antwerp. He has been pretty successfull too, winning the Dunk Contest at Kortrijk, the tournament at Leuven and the 3X3 Masters title in the U18 category at the X-Mas Finals.

 Always look for the lob when Zac’s around

Playing alongside other high-flyers, the teamname AirAfrica suits them well. Let’s see if the highlight-reel continues this year…

See Zachary’s 3X3 Planet profile

5. You

That’s right! We always have an eye for nice moves, crazy shots, winning-streaks and good hustle plays. So go ahead and sign-up for one of our tournaments and make sure you’re noticed. MC Lieven hands out random MVP-honours at all 3X3 Masters events, it’s your time to get one!

You know us, we like to throw it back once in a while… Have a look at our favourite pics from last years 3X3 Masters. These might put a smile on your face.

1. Are you serious? 

We’re not sure why the guy in the blue shirt is looking like that at Jonas Foerts. Maybe he’s impressed by Jonas’s shooting ability, or maybe he’s just trying to read what’s on his shirt. It’s SuperSwaggyEspiallyMoelek. Don’t know…

2. Air Jordan at 3X3 Masters

His Airness is everywhere, even at 3X3 Masters. A great impersonation and great timing by our photographer King, don’t you agree?

3. Swaggy likes what he sees

The smile on his face says it all.

4. Truth…

… is on the back of t-shirts! We love the message that is being spread at 3X3 Masters.

5. Referees fist-bump too

You know how it goes. Sun is shining, we’re ballin’, the beats are dropping, sunglasses come out and before you know it: FISTBUMP!

6. There is some Chef Curry in all of us

These girls were rocking the MVP’s shirt. They were ballin’ like him too.

7. Because Dance-Offs happen

And usually, MC Lieven is part of them.

8. Chicks got game

Playing professionally in Sweden, key player of the Belgian Cats and a regular at 3X3 Masters. We love everything about Julie Vanloo’s game and I guess it’s safe to say she usually has a good time with us too.

9. What’s your move?

Cross-em-up-style is the best way to describe Gilles Matho’s style. Nobody knows which move he’ll pull out of his sleeve next, neither did his defender in this pic.

 10. What are you doing?

All in 1 tournament, same dude twice. Are you kidding me?

11. Up and down

It doesn’t mean you’re down when you’re down. Frank Senior just pulled off one of his crazy dunks and fell after slammin it home. He jumped right up after this pic was taken and took the Dunk Contest with him.

12. When talent meets talent…

… you get great basketball. This was a great game between two talented young teams in the U15 category. Guess who won?

13. One too many

We had a serious Dunk battle at 3X3 Masters Kortrijk last year. Dunking over 5 people standing was one too many for Zac, but he still took home the crown.

14. Part of the team

Don’t you just love how this kid is cheering for his team? Hands in the air if you’re locked in with your team, even when you’re on the bench.

15. Because Swish happens

And then you keep your pose. Well duh…

Dear U13, U15, U18 & 18+ Women teams who qualified for the 3X3 Masters Finals

As you know, we weren’t able to play the 3X3 Masters Finals as planned due to the rain on Saturday July 25th. As true ballers, a lot of players and teams let us know they really want to play, no matter when or where.

We have been looking for a new date and location, talked to a lot of players & clubs and decided to… PLAY THE 3X3 MASTERS FINALS DURING THE CHRISTMAS BREAK!

Here’s why:

What you need to know about the 3X3 Master Finals Christmas Edition:

Let’s do this!


Full list of teams who will be invited: