First of all, it was an incredible pleasure and great fun to be at WorldCup in person! We spent a whole week in Warsaw and we definitely had the best time of our lives as 3x3 basketball fans. We came back home exhausted but incredibly happy!
What’s more, during the event, we met many streetball-positive people from all over the world, with whom we were finally able to talk in person. We’ll mention just two of them here - true walking encyclopedias of 3x3 basketball: Bas Rozendaal and Fèlix “Floppball” Lopez Camacho - it was so nice to meet you!
Results, photos, stats, and news can, obviously, be found at the official FIBA3x3 WorldCup website. No reason to repeat it here, so we will focus on the impressions, details and ideas which are totally subjective and hopefully interesting for you.
General observations
The game during the championship was extremely intense, physical, and fast-paced. Bas was right to suggest that we would see more grit-and-grind 3x3 basketball this season. Just look at the level of physicality, speed and determination present in probably the best match of the tournament - semifinal between Serbia and Latvia:
The winners
The Latvian team became the GOAT team - Greatest Of All Time. They won it all - EuroCup (2017), Olympics (2020), WorldTour (2020) and now WorldCup. Two current members of this team - Karlis Lasmanis and Nauris Miezis - played in all of these tournaments. There isn’t single person on the planet who has won more in 3x3 basketball than “Batman & Robin”.
Perfect timing to watch the documentary about them:
The USA women’s team winning gold was no surprise. This year they prepared themselves carefully and kept the same team playing in Women Series. It paid off. The final game summarized it perfectly: they shared the ball, kept their composure, and, when it mattered most, used their individual skills and champions mentality to win it all in style:
The… others
The Latvians were the most cohesive team; you could really feel the chemistry between them on the court. The other favorites also played great, but each of them was missing something... that one element... and in our opinion, it was the human element.
Germans played without Leon Fertig. Serbians - without Brankovic. France arrived without Seguela. Lithuania - Uzupis not present. Netherlands played without van der Horst/Bouwknecht.
Don’t get us wrong, the players replacing those listed above in their national rosters played a great tournament. Some of them couldn’t play due to injuries. We just think that this tiny difference that separated the champions from the almost champions is somewhere in the middle of these thousands of hours spent together on and off the court, in good and bad games and countless repetitions during practice.
But aside from those who lost by a narrow margin in this tournament, there were also nations that lost badly. Spain (2025 WorldCup men champions), Mongolia (2025 WorldCup women bronze medal) and Poland (hosts, 2025 WorldCup women 4th place) were eliminated in the pool phase in both categories. It must be devastating to the fans in Spain and Mongolia, in the same way it was devastating for us in Poland. Bad luck, or something else?
We would love to read your thoughts in comment section.
Top 3x3 teams
It’s important to recognize the players who really stood out, so in addition to the official tournament top three, we’re adding two of our own—composed of players who especially impressed us.
Official Men's Team of the Tournament: Karlis Lasmanis (MVP and top scorer), Denzel Agyeman and Strahinja Stojacic.
Our 2nd Men’s Team of the Tournament:
Hugo Suhard (France) - a man with our size and gigantic heart for the game. He was a driving force for his team, almost taking them to the medal. Hats off!
James Parrott (USA) - a highlight machine on both ends (dunks and blocks)! This guy doesn’t have bad games.
Te Tuhi Lewis (New Zealand) - extremely competitive, energetic, eye-catching fighter. When you think “streetballer” he is probably the role model.
Our 3rd Men’s Team of the Tournament:
Quincy Diggs (Austria) - when he is in a good shape and the right mood he is worth 50% of the Austrian team. He simply makes them dynamic and unpredictable. Both held true for majority of the week.
Worthy de Jong (Netherlands) - watching him move on the court with and without the ball is a special experience by itself. We expected to see him in the first team, but as a single player he didn’t disappoint.
Štěpán Borovka (Czechia) - main person behind the biggest upset of the tournament. Czechia was ranked 15th, finished 9th.
Official Women’s Team of the Tournament: Mikaylah Williams (MVP), Amy Atwell (top scorer) and Noortje Driessen
Our 2nd Women’s Team of the Tournament:
Alexandra Mollenhauer (Azerbaijan) - the most determined player on the team. It was probably only her teammate Brianna Fraser’s injury in the semifinals that kept her from finishing the tournament in the top three with a medal around her neck.
Laura Zolper (Germany) - the Olympic champions, playing without Sonja Greinacher (MVP in Paris) finished the group stage undefeated, largely thanks to her.
Digna Strautmane (Latvija) - She’s dynamic and a threat both under the basket and from beyond the arc. Together with her teammates, she may soon follow in her male colleagues’ steps.
Our 3rd Women’s Team of the Tournament:
Klaudia Papp (Hungary) - A true playmaker and fighter who runs her team’s offense practically the entire time. She has great vision and moves quickly across the court.
Kamile Nacickaite-van der Horst (Lithuania) - Dimeo was not playing, but both van der Horsts were present in Warsaw, together with their small baby. Not so good tournament for Lithuanians, but Kamile definitely led the team.
Krystyna Filevych (Ukraine) - for many Ukrainians, Poland is a second home. Buoyed by the fans’ cheers and led by Krystyna, they delivered a major upset.
Some not-so-obvious observations and suggestions
When you sit in the front row all week, you notice things that most fans miss. Among other things, we noticed:
Medical assistance provided to players during a game isn’t always limited to treating injuries. We got the impression that the medical staff of some teams have a deep understanding of tactics and are very eager to share that knowledge with the players. Perhaps it’s worth taking a closer look at this and establishing some guidelines...
We noticed some mysterious devices in the socks of the players from one team... Are they some kind of monitors for the players’ health parameters, or devices tracking their movements? Maybe both?
The DJs at 3x3 tournaments do a great job and create a one-of-a-kind atmosphere! Every now and then, though, it’s nice to hear nothing but the sounds coming from the court—to really get a feel for the intensity of the battle under the basket and get into the game. We know the rules say the music never stops, but maybe it’s worth trying out a 30-second music-free break in every game, just to see how it goes?
From the audience’s perspective, a roof of that size doesn’t make much sense when it rains. Even those sitting in the front rows, who are still sheltered, find themselves surrounded by the rest of the crowd seeking shelter from the rain when the weather turns bad. As a result, everyone ends up uncomfortable. Fortunately, the weather in Warsaw was good most of the time. Just like our mood. If we crossed paths during the championship but didn’t get a chance to talk—let us know in the comments!
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Sock devices might be Whoop bands! For the coaching part.. I tend to agree, but I'm not sure if it's worse then players communicating with their coach in the stands, whether verbally or through signage.