FIBA 3×3 World Tour Utsunomiya Opener

3×3 basketball, now recognized as an official Olympic sport, is showcased at its highest level in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour—an international series organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to determine the world’s best 3×3 club team.

The 2025 season will span across 15 cities worldwide. The top teams from the tour will advance to the World Tour Final, where the global champion will be crowned. Featuring the previous year’s champions and top-ranked teams from around the world, this tournament represents the pinnacle of 3×3 basketball competition.

Since 2016, the city of Utsunomiya has continuously hosted the FIBA 3×3 World Tour. Beginning in 2022, Utsunomiya was selected to kick off the season as the host of the Utsunomiya Opener, and will continue to do so through 2028—marking seven consecutive years as the opening venue. The 2025 Utsunomiya Opener is scheduled to take place over three days, from Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27.

The venue for the event is the historic Utsunomiya Futaarayama Shrine, said to have over 1,600 years of history. A special 3×3 court will be set up in front of the shrine’s grand torii gate, creating a striking fusion of tradition and modern sports culture. Japanese elements such as mikoshi (portable shrines) will be featured to further enhance the atmosphere and share the unique spirit of “3×3 City Utsunomiya” with the world.

In 2024, the local team UTSUNOMIYA BREX.EXE competed in the Utsunomiya Opener as the host city representative. They made history by advancing through the qualifiers to the final tournament stage for the second consecutive year—a first for any Japanese team. In the knockout stage, they faced off against UB (Serbia), the reigning champions of both the 2022 and 2023 World Tours. Although they were defeated 22–11, the team showed tremendous strength and determination in their battle against the world’s best.