The demonstration match in which Andrei Pavel, Anghel Damian and Virgil Stănescu played against the 2014 European champions ended the 2024 season of the national 3×3 basketball circuit, BCR Sport Arena Streetball, with pomp. The event took place over the weekend, on the grounds of the Bucharest Polytechnic University.
3×3 basketball matches, always thrilling
More than 570 teams and more than 2,500 players have competed throughout this season in the six BCR Sport Arena Streetball tournaments, which have scheduled 950 3×3 basketball matches.
The last event took place exactly a decade after winning the European 3×3 Basketball Championships, and Angel Santana, Bogdan Popescu and Cătălin Vlaicu, members of the Romanian national team in 2014, were celebrated on the courts where they prepared this performance.
Image of the pitches where the weekend games were played
The moments of joy and fun were contagious, and the children present in the stands also entered the field at the end of the demonstration game. The decisive basket was scored by the son of Horia Brenciu, Toma, a practitioner of this sport at the Fan Basketball club.
Santana, Popescu and Vlaicu, the gold medalists from 2014, were awarded at the end of the game by Albini Prassa with a special edition Tissot watch “Săgeata Orientului”, a tribute watch created to celebrate the story of the Franco-Romanian Air Navigation Company.
The 2024 champions have been decided
The 19th season of BCR Sport Arena Streetball established its champions in all 14 age categories, starting with the youngest basketball players under 10 years, up to the veterans of the 35 plus category. Sportul Studențesc pulled off a big surprise at the Women’s Open, narrowly defeating CS Vâlcea 1924 in the final, score 14-13, a team that had won four tournaments this season.
Ukrainian team Here for Beer won the Men’s Open after an undefeated tournament and a final won before the limit, score 21-15, against Agro Squad.
Anisia Pușcașu and Vladylslav Frolov were named the best players of the competition in the elite categories, while David Bănică was chosen Horizon Rising Star MVP, the best young player.
Spectacular phases, to the delight of the fans
Outdoor sports celebration
The last Sport Arena Streetball brand event of 2024 offered three days of sporting activities for the whole family. Basketball-themed contests were held in the fan zone, but attendees could also try pickleball, a new sport that has gone viral in the United States.
From the basketball court it was quickly moved to the one with the net, and Andrei Pavel exchanged a few balls with Virgil Stănescu and Anghel Damian. Pickleball is frequently practiced by tennis legends such as Andre Agassi or Steffi Graf and actor Jamie Foxx regularly organizes pickleball parties.
Journalist Emil Hossu-Longin presented his book Air Majesty – Michael Jordan, 40 years since the legendary American athlete signed his first contract with Nike, and all those who bought the book at the weekend at the stand set up at the fields entered in the raffle for a pair of Air Jordans.
Basketball was played not only in reality but also in the virtual environment, in the gaming area where the duels in NBA2K on Nintendo consoles were fierce. The winners of the console basketball competitions were awarded with NBA2k25 licenses provided by CD Media.
There were also slam-dunk contests, where Kyril Panfilov won for the third time this season, respectively the mini-dunk, in which the smallest basketball players could enjoy the most spectacular basketball technique.
BCR Sport Arena Streetball 2024 is supported by BCR, Mastercard, Nike, BCR Leasing, Horizon, BCR Life Insurance VIG, Subaru through SMT Pallady, Omniasig, Tissot, Albini Prassa, Kandia Dulce, Ideal Board Games, Red Bull and FR Basketball . The official radio of the competition is Kiss FM.
