How we play
We will be using the FIBA 3X3 rules as our basis for fixtures but with some adjustments.
You can find a complete breakdown of the rules and principles on the Fiba site by clicking here.
3x3 games generally last 10 minutes with a running clock but as this is impractical for our purposes. We suggest, therefore, that you play the best of three games to 11 points, scoring 1's and 2's. If you've arranged your own fixture and you finish the last game with time to spare, you can keep playing and run up the score until you're shuffled off the court.
Playing without clocks and officials means that we have to manage certain aspects of the game ourselves.
Shot-clock
Fiba 3x3 rules designate a 12 second shot clock. If you a spectator or a team member who is not on the court, they can count and call for the players. If you're employing this method then the spectator should call 'Five' when five seconds remain. We don't need to be anal about this, we just aim to keep the game moving and to disallow stalling.
If you agree to run this on a more informal basis then you can just start to gently object if the opposing team seems to be stalling or has not progressed their offence.
Fouls
Anyone who has played informal basketball knows that this is always a contentious issue. For our purposes, defensive players will call a foul if they know that they committed one. If contention arises, then the issue will be resolved by a jump-ball in the key circle with the defensive player on the basket side. If there is no spectator to put up the ball, then a player on the defensive team will fulfill this role. Above all, we want to avoid extended arguments, brawling and injury, all for the sake of a free-throw, so please revert to the jump ball as soon as contention arises.
And-ones
As shooting fouls are often contested, we have decided in our wisdom to disallow And-1s on the basis that if the defensive player doesn't think it was a foul in the first place, then losing a second point to a free throw adds insult to injury. You may end up feeling that you were robbed of that chance for an extra point but in terms of injustices, this seems like the smaller of the two.
Other rules
We urge all players to read the short version of the rules on Fiba's website but we will mention here some of the main points:
Possession
Each possession begins behind the 3pt line above the free throw line extended.
After a made basket, the team that was defending collects the ball and passes or dribbles it to this point to start the new possession. (NB Not from behind the baseline).
The other team can defend and try to steal the ball while it is still inside the charge circle or, if it's not marked, within the key.
There's no need to check the ball between possessions.
Free tHrows
For shooting fouls, either one or two free throws are awarded depending on where the foul occurred.
If the defending team rebounds a missed free throw then they must clear the ball to the top of the 3 point line to begin their new possession.
The spirit of the game
Above all, this is to be friendly. We will be logging results but the point of the league is to play some enjoyable basketball in a friendly atmosphere. We want all participants to enjoy winning but to enjoy playing more.
we will ask each team to give fair play points for each fixture and we will take action to curb or exclude teams that persistently flout the spirit of the league.