Glasgow 2026 – 3x3 Basketball eyes second Commonwealth Games opportunity
Despite a scaled back sports programme in Glasgow, 3×3 Basketball – men’s, women’s and wheelchair – made the cut, reflecting the growing popularity of the short form version of the sport.
Qualifying for LA28 is a target for the sport, however HPSNZ Performance Team Leader for Basketball, Sulu Fitzpatrick says the Commonwealth Games are an important benchmark event and an opportunity to try and podium.
Basketball NZ High Performance 3×3 Programmes Manager, Nikolay Mikhalchuk, says 3×3 Basketball has seen massive improvements and changes in New Zealand over the last four years.
“There’s an exciting new era of rising stars in New Zealand, largely driven by the international success of our Under 23 national teams who recently finished just outside the top eight at the U23 World Cup,” says Nikolay.
“What fills me with confidence is the steady rise in ranking for both our men’s and women’s 3×3 teams. Our men currently hold the No. 1 ranking in Oceania and our women are close behind Australia at No. 2, with both programmes now sitting inside the top 20 globally.
“The men’s side has become our current flagship after some outstanding international performances. Still, both teams are tracking strongly and we believe each has the potential to reach the finals stage in Glasgow.”
While there is still qualifying to finalise, Nikolay has a clear road map for Glasgow 2026.
“We’ll have men’s and women’s national training camps in February and then the men’s team will head to the Asia Cup in early April followed immediately by World Cup qualifiers where we have a strong chance to qualify. Following the World Cup tournament in Poland in June we will explore opportunities to take part in FIBA 3×3 Challengers closer to Glasgow.”
The situation for the women’s team is a little different as they are not part of the World Cup qualifiers and will not participate in the World Cup based on their ranking points. Instead, the women’s team will use the Asia Cup in Singapore and FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series stops as key build up events towards Glasgow.
“In the Commonwealth Games space, New Zealand, along with Australia, Canada and England, are considered to be the top four men’s teams. Our women’s team sits in the top eight so we will be looking to push ourselves higher up the rankings,” says Nikolay.
New Zealand’s Wheelchair 3X3 Basketball team is focused on qualifying for the Games for the first time and are quietly optimistic says Matt Vernick, Secretary of Wheelchair Basketball NZ and Disability and Inclusion Lead for Basketball NZ.
“There are a lot of unknowns for us heading into our first wheelchair 3×3 Commonwealth Games but it is extremely exciting. We know we have players who can compete at the international level and we’re more likely to do well in 3×3 wheelchair than the full court game which is very competitive at the international level,” says Matt.
“Competing at a major international event like the Commonwealth Games is huge for the profile and visibility of the sport, not just for basketball but for all wheelchair athletes.
“Believe it or not we have been playing wheelchair basketball in New Zealand since the 1950s but it’s very rarely seen. For us, it’s a real honour to be in the condensed Commonwealth Games programme.”
Despite the low profile in New Zealand, Matt says he has some real experience along with up and comers on the team’s roster. “Eamon Wood is the only New Zealander to play wheelchair basketball at a professional level and the dad of two currently plays in Sydney and is vastly experienced. On the other hand, rising star Sage Vaughters is a 21 year old uni student.”
November is a big month for the 3×3 wheelchair teams with an important qualifying tournament in Thailand.
“Assuming all goes well, we are excited at our opportunity and know it will give us the chance to inspire young kids to get involved in the sport.”