Fiba ‘freezes’ 3×3 rankings as games remain suspended

MANILA, Philippines — With sports still on shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fiba, basketball’s governing body, has decided to “freeze” its 3×3 rankings in all categories.

Fiba competitions have been suspended since March 13 and it remains unclear when the suspension will be lifted.

“FIBA has announced today that it will freeze the FIBA 3×3 Individual World, Team and Federation Rankings in all categories, ” Fiba said in a press release.

“The FIBA 3×3 Rankings are based on the 9 best performances of the players in the previous 12 months. April traditionally marks the start of the professional 3×3 season. However, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and in order to protect the health and safety of players, coaches, officials and fans, FIBA competitions have been suspended since March 13, 2020.”

Fiba said its decision is backed by the “full support of the 3×3 athletes of the FIBA Players’ Commission.”

Rankings help determine which federations qualify for national team competitions using the Federation Ranking as well as which teams are given privileged access to the professional circuit based on the Team Ranking.

As of April 1, Serbia, led by the No. 1 3×3 player in the world Dusan Bulut, remains the top-ranked team in the men’s class while Russia paces the women’s.

The Philippines, meanwhile, is 20th in the men’s division with 9,468,741 ranking points and 21st in the women’s field with 2,487,881 points.