Basketball will be included in the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast… but will it be 5 on 5 or 3 on 3?
The program for for the Commonwealth Games in 2018 has been finalised and basketball will return to the Commonwealth Games line-up.
Basketball has only been included once in the history of games, the last time being coincidently also the last time the games were held in Australia, Melbourne 2006.
At those games our Australian men’s and women’s teams defeated New Zealand with five players on court at a time, however FIBA representative Kosta Iliev, whose job title is FIBA 3×3 Sports Director, claims that FIBA have an understanding The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) will “accept” 3×3 basketball in 2o18.
Iliev says said the decision on what format basketball will be in Gold Coast will be finalised at a General Assembly for the games to be held in Auckland this September.
Despite this it is Gold Coast 2018 organisers have stated that the sports programme will not be changed.
“3×3 basketball will not feature in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games,” said Tamara Morris, manager of communications and marketing at Gold Coast 2018.
“It will definitely be the traditional five-a-side with our sport programme actually signed off by the CGF last June.
Basketball has not been included at recent Commonwealth games in Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014.
The preliminary rounds of the men’s and women’s competitions are scheduled to take place at the Cairns Convention Centre and Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre, with the finals being held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
It is set to be the fifth time that Australia has hosted the event, following Sydney in 1938, Perth in 1962, Brisbane in 1982 and Melbourne nine years ago.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
