Basketball national final to ignite hoops fever in Beijing

The 2016 Sina 3-on-3 Gold League looks set to ignite basketball fever in the Chinese capital as its two-day national final tips off on Saturday at the Wukesong Hi-Park in west Beijing.

A total of 16 teams have qualified for the national final through regional preliminaries, which started in March involving more than 2,800 teams across 16 cities. The 16 squads will compete first in the four-group pool stage on Saturday before the semifinals and final on Sunday.

The league, which was inaugurated last year, earned a certificate from FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, as the highest-level half-court 3-on-3 basketball competition in China as well as a platform to promote pop culture.

The league offers total prize money of 600,000 yuan (almost $90,000) with the national champion bagging 320,000 yuan as well as a trip to Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics to compete against oversea teams and watch the Olympics basketball tournament.

The national final will be broadcasted live on streaming platforms: sina.com, PPTV and iQiyi, as well as China Central Television's sports channel (CCTV 5).

At the announcing press conference for the basketball tournament on Friday, Sina Sports also officially signed an agreement with Beijing Sports Competitions Administration Center to be a strategic partner of the center in media promotion, event organization and venue operation.

In addition to the 3-on-3 basketball league, the two parties will work together to organize more grassroots sporting events such as marathon, skating and skiing. Sina Sports will also help Beijing bid for the host of more high-profile international sporting events boating advantages in multimedia promotion.

"The cooperation is a great start for better organization and promotion of competitive sporting event in Beijing in the future," said Hai Zhenwen, director of the center.

Arthur Wei, senior vice president of Sina.com and general manager of Sina Sports added that the Sina's media resources could help promote Beijing's image as a vibrant metropolis for international sporting events.

"We are committed to building a platform together for organizing and promoting mass sporting events to forge a healthy and dynamic city identity," he said.