China embracing excitement of 3x3 hoops

Games use a 12-second shot clock and last a maximum of 10 minutes.

The action takes place on half a court, with one hoop. There's no halftime, quarters or timeouts. And it's typically accompanied by non-stop music and cheerleaders.

Welcome to the world of 3x3 hoops.

China's clean sweep of the 3x3 competitions at the Asian Games in August produced two gold medals and opened a window of opportunity for national development of the format.

Credit goes to Chinese Basketball Association boss Yao Ming, whose reforms helped forge a national men's 3x3 squad that features three amateur players — a university lecturer, a student and an office worker.

The squad's success at the Asiad in Jakarta inspired amateurs around the nation and showed that China has great potential in 3x3, which has been added to the Olympic program for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

One of China's new circuits — HoopBattle Championship — wrapped up its season with a weekend title tournament in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, featuring 16 men's teams and eight women's squads.

Under the guidance of the CBA and organized by HoopBattle (Beijing) Sports Cultural Development Ltd, the league debuted in Guangzhou, Dongguan and Foshan in 2015, with 132 teams playing 264 games.

In 2017, HoopBattle Championship expanded nationwide, with over 2,000 players forming teams in 10 cities to compete in about 600 games for a total prize pool of 1.02 million yuan ($145,000).

This year, the league launched its global strategy and entered the Philippines market. Among the 16 men's teams in this year's final, two were Filipino.

The league organizer has also invested in venue construction in several Chinese cities and started training camps this year.

"Our aim is to promote grassroots 3x3 basketball development through our HoopBattle platform," said Temple Tung, CEO of the company.

"We started the league as a city tournament, but we have been upgrading the event. This year, for the first time, we have international teams competing. Next year, we plan to introduce our league to more countries.

"The Philippines teams provided our domestic players with more opportunities to compete against international talent, which will benefit development in our country."

China's 3x3 talent selection system is based on Yao's innovative national 3x3 "Road to Olympics" tournament, which is open to both amateurs and pros and proved its worth at the Asian Games.

"Through the new national tournament, lots of young athletes will have the chance to compete in the Olympics," said Yao, an eight-time NBA All-Star with the Houston Rockets and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

"We can achieve better results for the future of the sport by establishing this system early", said Yao, noting the system doesn't reach every part of the country.

That's why new leagues like HoopBattle are important.

Beginning this season, the league champion will qualify for the "Road to Olympics" national tournament.

"We spared no efforts and tried our best to get the championship," said Ma Long, captain of the men's champion team No Who that pocketed 400 thousand yuan and a ticket to the national team tryouts.

"Thanks to the platform for giving us such an opportunity. I hope the tournament continues to grow and have a bright future."

Tung agreed, adding: "Through the cooperation with the CBA, we will continue to upgrade our tournament, building a ladder for talented amateur players to higher platforms, including the national team."