• U13 Mixed: °2010 and younger
• U15 Girls: °2008 & 2009
• U15 Boys: °2008 & 2009
• U18 Boys: °2005, 2006 & 2007
• U23 Men: °2000 and younger
• +16 Women Recreational: °2007 and older
• +16 Women Elite*: °2007 and older
• +23 Men Recrea: °1999 and older
• +23 Men Elite**: °1999 and older
• Wheelchair U21: °2002 and younger
• Wheelchair 21+: °2001 and older

IMPORTANT: the oldest player determines the age category of the team!

*+16 Women Elite: for teams who play at landelijk/regional level or higher, or teams who want to prove themselves against the best
**+23 Men Elite: for teams who play at a national level or teams who want to prove themselves against the best

Fair play & respect are the two most important rules: respect your opponent, the referee, the organization and the environment.
Every team and player that enters the 3X3 Masters, agrees with these rules.
Every player has to show a legitimate identification (ID) to be able to play.

Every team that wants to participate in the 3×3 Masters Tournaments, has to sign up online in advance and register at the tournament. A team can sign up by filling in the online form on www.3X3masters.be.

When arriving at the tournament, all teams are expected at the registration desk where the team captain will confirm their registration and show the ID’s of all players who registered online. Changes in the team can be made at this moment. The registration desk will close 30 min. before the start of each tournament.

Cancellation: any team that cancels less than 72 hours before the start of the tournament lose the right to a refund of the registration fee.

IMPORTANT: each tournament is limited to 60 teams. We encourage teams to sign up in advance to avoid having too many teams at the tournament.

Standings of teams

Both in pools and in overall competition standings, the following classification rules apply. If teams are tied after the first step, refer to the next one – and so on.

1. Most wins (or win ratio in case of unequal number of games in inter-pool comparison);
2. Head-to-head confrontation (only taking win/loss into account and applies within a pool only);
3. Most points scored in average (without considering winning scores of forfeits).

Seeding rules

Teams are seeded correlatively to the team ranking points (sum of the team’s 3 best players ranking points,
prior to the competition). In case of a same team ranking points, seeding will be determined randomly prior to
the competition start.1

Bracket system: Every category will be divided in min. 2 series/pools if possible. The top 4/8 teams in each category will play a Final Four/Eight Knock-Out.

• Series: Every team will play against the other teams in the series.
• Final Four/Eight Knock-Out: the top 4/8 teams play against each other in a knock-out system. The winner advances to the next round. The winner of the final game wins the tournament.

3X3 Masters Finals

1. The winner in each category at all 3X3 Masters Qualification Tournaments qualifies directly for the 3X3 Masters Finals of the same year.
2. If a team qualifies for the 3X3 Masters Finals, they can substitute max. 2 players for the finals.
3. If a team can’t make it to the final event, another team can be invited (2nd team in ranking of same qualification event, etc.). This will be decided by the organization.
4. A team that already qualified for the finals, can still participate in the other qualification events.
   The finals are played with (max.) 12 teams per age category.
5. Every qualified team will need to confirm their participation at the 3X3 Masters Final. We will send an official invitation to the team captain by mail after the event
6. Non-Belgian +23 Men Elite Teams can not qualify for the Crelan 3×3 Masters Finals in Antwerp. Foreign teams can however participate in a Crelan 3×3 Masters tournament, without earning a ticket to the Finals

Note: FIBA Rules apply, except regarding timekeeping.

Court and Ball

• All games will be played on a basketball halfcourt with 1 basket.
• The height of the basket is 305 cm for all categories.
• Every game will be played with a Spalding TF33 ball (size 6, weight 7), these are provided by the organization.

Teams

• Every team consists of minimum 3 and maximum 4 players (3 players on the court and 1 substitute).
• Every player has to be registered in advance. A team with a non-registered player on the court will be disqualified immediately.
• A player can only play for one team at the tournament. When a player violates this rule he or she will be excluded immediately from the tournament.

Game Officials

The game officials shall consist of 1 or 2 referees and time/score keepers.

Beginning of the Game

A coin flip will determine which team gets the first possession. The team that wins the coin flip can either choose to benefit from the ball possession at the beginning of the game or at the beginning of a potential overtime. The game must start with three players on the court.

Scoring

• Every made shot inside the arc shall be awarded 1 point.
• Every made shot behind the arc shall be awarded 2 points.
• Every successful free throw shall be awarded 1 point.

Playing time/Winner of a Game

The regular playing time shall be as follows: 1 period of 10 minutes playing time. The clock will not be stopped in any case until the final 2 minutes of the game. In the last 2 minutes, the clock will be stopped during dead ball situations and free throws. The clock shall be restarted after the exchange of the ball is completed (as soon as it is in the offensive team’s hands) or with a rebound after a free throw. 

However, the team which scores 21 points wins the game if it happens before the end of regular playing time. This rule applies to regular playing time only (not in a potential overtime).

If the score is tied at the end of the regular playing time, an extra period of time will be played. The first team to score 2 points in this overtime wins the game.

A team shall lose the game by forfeit if at the scheduled starting time the team is not present on the playing court with min. 3 players ready to play. In case of a forfeit, the game score is marked with w-0 or 0-w (“w” standing for win).

A team shall lose by default if it leaves the court before the end of the game or all the players of the team are injured and/or disqualified. In case of a default situation, the winning team can choose to keep its score or have the game forfeited, whilst the defaulting team’s score is set to 0 in any case.

Fouls/Free throws

• A team is in a penalty situation after it has committed 6 fouls.
• Players are not excluded based on the number of personal fouls.
• Fouls during the act of shooting inside the arc shall be awarded 1 free throw, whilst fouls during the act of shooting behind the arc shall be awarded 2 free throws.
• Fouls during the act of shooting followed by a successful field goal will be penalized with 1 additional free throw (or 2 free throws if the team is in foul penalty).
• Team fouls 7, 8 and 9 will always be penalized with 2 free throws (exception: offensive fouls). From the 10th and any subsequent foul, the team will always be awarded with 2 free throws and ball possession (exception: offensive fouls).

This clause is applied also to fouls during the act of shooting and overrules previous articles.

All technical fouls will always be penalized with 1 free throw and ball possession, whilst unsportsmanlike fouls will be penalized with 2 free throws and ball possession. The game will continue with an exchange of the ball behind the arc at the top of the court after a technical or unsportsmanlike foul. Though this depends on if it’s the first or second unsportsmanlike foul of the player. 

Note: no free throws shall be awarded after an offensive foul.

How the Ball is played

Following each successful field goal or last free throw (except those followed by ball possession):

• A player from a non-scoring team will resume the game by dribbling or passing the ball from inside the court directly underneath the basket (not from behind the end line) to a place on the court behind the arc.
• The defensive team is not allowed to play for the ball in the “no-charge semi-circle area” underneath the basket.
  
  

Following each unsuccessful field goal or last free throw (except those followed by ball possession):

• If the offensive team rebounds the ball, it may continue to attempt to score without returning the ball behind the arc.
• If the defensive team rebounds the ball, it must return the ball behind the arc (by passing or dribbling).
• If the defensive team steals or blocks the ball, it must return the ball behind the arc (by passing or dribbling)
• Possession of the ball given to either team following any dead ball situation shall start with an exchange of the ball (between the defensive and the offensive player) behind the arc at the top of the court.
• A player is considered to be “behind the arc” when neither of his feet are inside nor step the arc.
• In the event of a jump ball situation, the defensive team shall be rewarded the ball.

Stalling /Shot Clock

Stalling or failing to play actively (i.e. not attempting to score) shall be a violation.

If the court is equipped with a shot clock, a team must attempt a shot within 12 seconds. The clock shall start as soon as the ball is in the offensive players’ hands (following the exchange with the defensive player or after a successful field goal underneath the basket).

Note: If the court is not equipped with a shot clock and a team is not sufficiently trying to attack the basket, the referee shall give them a warning by counting the last 5 seconds.

Substitutions

Substitutions can be done by any team when the ball becomes dead, prior to the check-ball or free throw. The substitute can enter the game after his teammate steps off the court and establishes a physical contact with him.

Substitutions can only take place behind the end line opposite the basket and substitutions require no action from the referees or table officials.

Time-outs

One 30-second time-out is granted to each team. A player can call the time-out in a dead ball situation. The game clock shall keep running during time-out, unless the time-out takes place in the final 2 minutes of the game.

In case a team believes its interests have been adversely affected by a decision of an official or by any event that took place during a game, it must proceed in the following manner:

1. A player of that team shall sign the score sheet immediately at the end of the game and before the
   referee signs it.
2. Within 30 minutes, the team should present a written explanation of the case, as well as a security
   deposit of 250 EUR to the Sports Director. If the protest is accepted, then the security deposit is
   refunded.
3. Video materials may be used only to decide if a last shot for a field goal at the end of the game was released during playing time and/or whether that shot for a field goal counts for 1 or 2 points.

A player committing two unsportsmanlike or technical fouls can be disqualified from the game by the referees. Independent thereof, the organizer will disqualify the player(s) concerned from the event for acts of violence, verbal or physical aggression, tortuous interference in game results, a violation of FIBA’s Anti-Doping rules (Book 4 of the FIBA Internal Regulations) or any other breach of the FIBA Code of Ethics (Book 1, Chapter II of the FIBA Internal Regulations). The organizer may also disqualify the entire team from the event depending on the other team members’ contribution (also through non-action) to the aforementioned behavior. Disqualified teams and players will not be allowed to play at the Crelan 3×3 Masters Final.