MONTREAL, QUE. (August 31, 2021) -- Just over a month after making its Olympic debut, 3x3 basketball makes its return to Canada on the Labour Day long weekend as Montréal hosts two elite international events.

The FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Montreal Stop 2021 tips off on September 3-4, with the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Montreal Masters 2021 taking place on September 4-5 in the heart of the city at the Quartier des Spectacles.

“Downtown Montréal is the perfect place to welcome 3x3 back to Canada” says Paul Sir, Canada Basketball’s Managing Director of 3x3 Development. “The Tokyo Summer Games showcased this great sport to the world, and we’re excited that fans now have an opportunity to see these world class athletes up close in a one-of-a-kind setting.”

Three of the top four teams in the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series standings will compete in Montréal, including Spain (1), Poland (2), and Germany (4). Canada, who is currently seeded in 13th place, will be represented by Christina Buttenham (Ancaster, Ont.), Paige Crozon (Humboldt, Sask.), Rashida Timbilla (Ottawa, Ont.), and Catherine Traer (Chelsea, Que.).

The FIBA 3x3 Women's Series is the No. 1 event on the 3x3 women's professional circuit. Montréal is the sixth stop on its 2021 schedule, and the final competition before the Bucharest Final on Sept. 18th and 19th in Hungary.

Old Montreal, Winnipeg and Edmonton join 2020 World Tour Final champions Riga (Latvia) as part of a stacked 12-team field set for the Montreal Masters. Old Montreal’s lineup includes Sebastian Beckett (Georgetown, PEI), Kyle Desmarais (Montréal, Que.), Vincent Dufort (Smiths Falls, Ont.), and Dele Ogundokun (Hamilton, Ont.). Wyatt Anders (Winnipeg, Man.), Brensley Haywood (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota), Kurtis Koenig (Waconia, Minnesota) and Paris Kyles (St. Louis Park, Minnesota) will compete as Winnipeg this weekend. Edmonton will feature Ross Bekkering (Taber, Alb.), Alex Johnson (Toronto, Ont.), Adika Peter-McNeilly (Toronto, Ont.) and Steve Sir (Edmonton, Alb.), who is the No. 1-ranked 3x3 player in Canada.

This year marks the 10th for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, the most prestigious event in 3x3. Montréal is one of several Masters leading up to the Jeddah Final on December 17th and 18th in Saudi Arabia.

These two events mark the first FIBA 3x3 action in Canada since September 2019, when Montréal also staged a stop on the Women’s Series and World Tour Masters.

Many of the athletes coming to Montréal are fresh off competing in July at the Tokyo 2020 Games, which saw 3x3 basketball contested at the Olympics for the first time. The historic first gold medals were won by USA in the women’s event, and Latvia in the men’s event.