Ireland to face World and European Champions at FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup

Ireland will face recently crowned FIBA 3x3 World Cup champions Latvia and defending FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup champions Lithuania in the pool stage of the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup 2026, the European Championships of 3x3 basketball, which takes place in Antwerp, Belgium this Autumn. 

It marks the second year in succession that Ireland will face the Latvians in the repechage phase. The quartet of Jordan Blount, John Carroll, Sean Jenkins and Matt Treacy lost 21-7  in Ireland's debut men's game at this level a year ago, before exiting the tournament following a 21-13 defeat to the Netherlands in their concluding game of the pool stage in Copenhagen. The meeting with Lithuania, who are currently ranked fourth in the FIBA 3x3 World Rankings, will mark the first time Ireland have met the 3x3 powerhouse at senior level. Lithuania enter the competition as defending champions, defeating Latvia 21-17 in the decider in 2025. 

"Our participation for the second year in a row at this level shows our intentions with 3x3," said Ireland 3x3 senior men's head coach Darren McGovern. "At the qualifiers in Kosovo we reach some good levels,  but we need to improve and that's a challenge for the squad. Some of our guys have been playing more this summer on the pro circuit which has improved the teams levels even more. I want them to aim for more than just being there. A win is our next target." 

Ireland secured their spot at FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup by winning the qualifying event in Kosovo earlier in June. Jordan Blount, Matt Treacy, Ryan Leonard and Lucien Christofis dropped their opening game of the group phase 21-18 to old foes Cyprus, before bouncing back with an 18-16 victory against Kosovo to reach the final four. A routine 21-15 win against Albania in the semi-final set up a rematch in the decider against Cyprus, which Ireland duly gained revenge in a 21-13 rout, including a team high seven points for Leonard. 

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"Playing recent World Cup champions Latvia and FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup champions Lithuania is the task. How do we win one of those? It starts with belief, but overall we are looking forward to representing Ireland at the highest level in European 3x3 basketball once more." added McGovern. 

Away from Ireland's group - Serbia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Estonia, Switzerland and Italy have also qualified for the 12 team tournament. 

What is FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup? 

The FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup is the European Championships of basketball's 3x3 format. It brings together 12 teams who qualify for the tournament either through their FIBA World Ranking or through qualifying events throughout the year. 

This will be the 11th edition of the competition, taking place in Antwerp, Belgium from Friday, September 11th to Sunday, September 13th. 

If you are new to 3x3 basketball it's a fast-paced game played on a half-court, three players per team, with a 12 second-shot clock for 10 minutes. The winning team is the first to 21-points or the team with the most points when the 10 minute period is up.  

Teams are split into four groups of three for two round robin games, with the top two in each group progressing to the quarter-final stage. 

You can find the competition portal here.