FIBA is trying to introduce a new concept to the basketball aristocracy -- one that has been confined to the streets for some time -- 3 on 3 basketball.

Yesterday the FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championships tipped off in Rimini, Italy. The tournament, running until September 11, is clearly designed to take a different tack to the established official basketball channels. For starters, the location for the tournament is being described on the official website as "the lively and hip city of Rimini renowned for its parties, hotels and most notably for the Dolce Vita lifestyle that is enjoyed near the Adriatic Sea."

In addition, the three day tournament will include the highly-attractive dunking, skills and shooting contests that appeal to so many youth and street players. 

40 countries will be represented, including 240 players -- 36 boys' teams and 24 girls' teams. This is the first tournament of its kind, being an official FIBA 3x3 tournament, diverting from the usual 5-on-5 regulation competition. 

What is more, FIBA is pushing to make this a part of the Olympic Games by 2016. That is a serious shift in focus from an official sports body that is usually known for sticking to tradition -- clearly a nod towards how much traction the 3-on-3 game has in hoops lore.

Another hugely positive and impactful outcome of this tournament is the presence of the likes of Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Qatar, Romania and Guam -- none of which are renowned for their basketball prowess. Of course, the traditional basketball superpowers are in attendance too, including USA, Russia, Spain, Greece and Serbia. 

What is interesting so far, is that the usual rules of country dominance have not entirely applied. In the Boys' Pool 1, Estonia is undefeated on 8-0, ahead of the likes of Greece (5-3) and Puerto Rico (5-3). In Pool 2, Italy is 8-0 with a hugely dominant for-and-against, ahead of Serbia (7-1) and Spain (6-2). Pool 3 sees New Zealand at 7-1, ahead of Latvia 6-2, Canada 6-2, Turkey 6-2 and Germany 4-4. And finally Pool 4 sees Bulgaria at 7-1 ahead of both Russia and USA on 6-2 and lowly Croatia at 3-5. (On the other hand, the Girls' standings are relatively expected, with USA, Australia, Spain, Russia and Italy being joined by the surprising Japan.) 

I'm sure that there are a bunch of factors at play here, including the lack of focus on these championships, given the current Olympic qualifying tournaments and the very different 3-on-3 nature of the games, but nonetheless, it is refreshing to see new basketball countries emerging as possible future contenders. At the very least, it may spur interest in basketball in those countries, making this a very smart move by FIBA on a multitude of levels.

FIBA, keep up the progressive work.

This guest post comes from Chris Jackson of the always-entertaining, Get Banged On, keeping you abreast of the best dunks, jams and slams from across the basketball world. Today Chris turns to another area of interest: the Australian Boomers and their current preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. 

Australian basketball fans should be excited. The Boomers are stocked with guys playing at the highest level in the NBA and around Europe. They have the size and experience that should lend themselves well to a strong showing at the 2012 London Olympic Games. But a lack of one key component may be their downfall. 

The international game is more of a balanced game, unlike the isolation-friendly, one-out style of play made famous in the NBA. Ball movement and inside-out play feature heavily in the offenses of world powerhouses such as Spain and Argentina. More often than not, the ball will touch all five players' hands before a shot will go up. With such ball movement the defense is constantly moving and adjusting giving the offense the chance to pick and choose their spot to attack. Watch the Argentinian offense. Luis Scola is a skilled post player who draws a lot of defensive attention. When he receives the ball, the defense has to react, there are few post defenders in the world that can stop Scola one-on-one. If he draws one or maybe two defenders, he may kick it out to one of the perimeter players, who now has a defender rotating across out of position, and who then can penetrate and kick to a shooter like Carlos Delfino who goes ahead and knocks down the three pointer.

Now this is the problem. Who is the knockdown three point shooter for the Boomers?

Kirk Penney has been the dead-eye threat for the Tall Blacks. He seems to have unlimited range and can get his shot off in a hurry, opening the floor for the Tall Blacks. He demands attention. The Boomers don't have that threat.

The Boomers strength is their big guys. Matt Neilsen, AJ Ogilvy, Aleks Maric and Aron Baynes are all guys who have shown their class in the top European leagues and with Andrew Bogut and David Andersen hopefully coming back to the team for the Olympics, the Boomers are stacked up front. But without the three-point threat, defenses can clog the lane drop into a zone defense, and limit the effectiveness of the Australian inside presence. 

It might not be so evident in the series with New Zealand (although 8-25 from 3-point land in Game 1 is troubling), but moving on to tougher competition, the need for a shooter will be more apparent. 

Who do the Boomers have that can consistently knock down a three? 

Patty Mills is better as a penetrator, using his speed to split the defense and find the open man. Patty will hit a three, but he's a streaky shooter at best (4-13 in Game 1). Even through the NBA season, Patty couldn't show himself as a reliable shooter.

Joe Ingles is much of the same. He's more of a slasher, trying to get to the rim and using his athleticism to pull up and hit a mid-range jumper. Much like Mills, Ingles is a streaky shooter who can get hot and fill it up but doesn't consistently find the bottom of the net.

Brad Newley and Dave Barlow are versatile swingmen but again, neither of them have shown any consistency from beyond the arc and Adam Gibson and Damian Martin (while Damo has improved his stroke greatly) are more defensive guards and not the most reliable shooters.

Matthew Dellavedova could be the shooter they need (check out his stats at St. Mary's College) but, from what I've seen, may not have the confidence at this level (so far) to step in and take the shots. 

The Boomers have the tools to make a run at the Olympics and if the streaky shooters do get hot, it could make things very interesting. But I'd have a better feeling if all of pieces fit together. If the one hole in the puzzle was filled. The bigs are world class, the point guard play is strong and there are athletes on the wings. The three-point threat is the missing piece. 

Long gone are the days of the Aussie three-point gunners like Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, John Rillie and Brett Maher. Who will step up and fill the void?

Review of Game One here.

Last night the Australian Boomers took down the New Zealand Tall Blacks in what was a firey, aggressive affair. The final score, 91-78 to the Boomers, was not indicative of how tight the first half was, with the Boomers leading by only two at the main break.

This was the first game of the FIBA Oceania Championship to decide which team automatically goes through to the London 2012 Olympics, and which will be forced to qualify via the more convoluted route of an elimination decider. Arguably both teams are well-deserving of an Olympic berth and this series has already shown to be a spectacle worth the basketball world's attention.

Game one, in Melbourne, saw new Tigers recruit Patty Mills take the floor to a packed out home crowd and provide 20 points at a relatively disappointing 6/21 clip (4/13 from deep). He did manage to draw seven fouls, in what was a physical encounter.

Kirk Penney was, as always, the star for the Tall Blacks. He scored 30 points (11/20 FG, 4/8 3PT), in a similar role to that which he has done with the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL, playing alongside many of those same teammates. Unfortunately for the Kiwis, Tom Abercrombie didn't come to the party with a relatively quiet seven point, three rebound performance. The Breakers need Abercrombie to be that second scoring threat if they are to succeed the rest of the way through this series.   

As the game went on, it became apparent that New Zealand was getting frustrated with the deficit they were facing, with the likes of Mika Vukona (18 points, 12 rebounds), Casey Frank and Mark Dickel getting slightly more aggressive than the referees would like, in an attempt to rile up the troops and intimidate the Aussies. 

Boomers captain Matt Nielsen was having none of it when Dickel pounded young guard Matthew Dellavedova, coming to the defence of his teammate, who in turn was hit by Vukona and the rest of both squads. This incident had come after some all-in action involving Vukona and Aussie big Aleks Maric, as well as the provocation of Frank by Boomers forward Mark Worthington.

Worthington had a stellar performance for the Aussies, putting up 13 points, but more importantly, being an emtional leader during a tight period of the game. He took the edge off the Tall Blacks pushes and scored some key baskets, whilst getting under his opponents' skin, as he has done to many an NBL opponent.

Nielsen showed that he is a highly valuable member of the Boomers, as I have repeated on numerous occasions here. A stat line of 10 points, six assists and five rebounds does not begin to show the anchor that he provides for this squad, populated by numerous youngsters.

With NBA star Andrew Bogut on the sidelines, due to insurance limitations, Maric (11 points, eight rebounds) provided the toughness inside that the Boomers needed, ably assisted by centres AJ Ogilvy and Aron Baynes, who all provide slightly different looks for Boomers coach Brett Brown.

Dellavedova has been a surprise, with respect to the number of minutes he has been provided by Brown in the rotation and the readiness he has shown to contribute. Playing ahead of more experienced campaigners in Adam Gibson (13 minutes) and Damian Martin (DNP), he has won Brown's good graces through hustle, poise, defensive showings and a length that allows him to play either guard spot.

Brad Newley provided the highlight of the game with a tip-dunk off his own three-point missed shot -- a move that few can recall seeing performed. Check out the video highlights, as Newley follows his dunk with a blocked shot reminiscent of LeBron James:

Game two will be played in Brisbane on Friday September 9, with the eyes of NBL guaging the potential success of a return of the Brisbane Bullets. This will be followed by a potentially-deciding game three in Sydney on Sunday September 11. Tickets are still available.

[image via NBL/Getty -- video via ryaninoz on youtube]

[image: FIBA.com]

The Australian Boomers destroyed China in a test event at the London Invitational Tournament to open the new London 2012 Olympics facility. 

Australia took out the match 71-43, with Peter Crawford putting up 15 points (3/8 3PT), possibly scoring himself an outside shot at a Boomers berth when the Olympics roll around in a month. David Barlow scored 14 points, whilst Damian Martin snared a game-high seven rebounds along with six assists, in his normally well-rounded performance. He also threw this handy alley-oop to AJ Ogilvy:

Chinese star Yi Jianlian, known for his inconsistency, had a disappointing 7 points on 2/11 from the field on an underpowered Chinese squad. He did throw down this dunk though:

Australian stars Patty Mills, Brad Newley, Joe Ingles and Matt Nielsen did not play.

The University-level basketball talent of the world is currently competing at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China. 

Outside of the beautiful basketball on the court, amazing views can be seen around the court... 

The stadia for the 2011 Summer Universiade games are some of the most impressive designs since, well, the Beijing Olympics in China. You can check out many more impressive photos at Dezeen.

This Friday the friendly YouYi Games series between Australia and China tips off in Perth. The series, coordinated by former Boomers great, Andrew Vlahov, was originally destined to be a three-game series, however a third game slated to be played in China has been canned. Game two will be played in Singapore on Sunday 26 June. Both games will be shown on OneHD in Australia (11:10pm AEDT Friday and Midnight Sunday).

The Boomers have been preparing for the series with a five-day camp in Perth this week. The games provide a good opportunity to blood new talent for future Boomers events, whilst adding weight to the campaigns of fringe Australia squad members in getting noticed by Head Coach Brett Brown for the 2012 London Olympics team.

Despite lacking the still-injured Yao Ming and the US-based Yi Jianlian, China has a fairly solid team for the Games, which should make for an even and interesting series, given the watered-down roster that the usually-superior Australia has put gathered. The travelling squad of 16 for China will include nine from the 2010 Turkey FIBA World Championships (per Asia-Basket): 

Guards: Liu Wei, Yu Shulong, Xirilijiang, Wang Shipeng, Zhang Qingpeng, Zhang Bo, Sun Yue
Forwards: Zhu Fangyu, Ding Jinhui, Zhou Peng, Yi Li, Wang Lei, Mo Ke
Centers: Wang Zhizhi, Su Wei, Zhang Zhaoxu

Of particular interest for Australia will be how they handle experienced guards Liu Wei, Wang Shipeng, as well as versatile big guard Sun Yue ("the Chinese Magic Johnson"). Wang ZhiZhi is always a tough cover with his experience and outside shooting ability.

Australia will be headlined by David Barlow, as one of the few certainties to play in London 2012. The swingman has been performing well in Spain as an import and will look to stamp his authority on this series as the marquee player. Perth Wildcats star guard Damian Martin, who has already performed well for Australia on the international stage, will lead the team from the backcourt, on both ends of the floor.

Meanwhile, the starting shooting guard role will be Peter Crawford's. The dynamic NBL veteran has never made much impact at international level and the time is now for the Townsville Crocodile to stamp his name as a Boomers stalwart for the final years of his career. His ability to hit the outside shot, get to the basket and play solid defence should make him a player to watch in this series, with a view to sneaking into the London 2012 squad amongst the likes of Barlow, Joe Ingles, Brad Newley and Mark Worthington.

The remainder of the squad is comprised of a number of bigs who will be battling for final London 2012 roster spots and smaller inexperienced youngsters who will be looking to make a name for themselves for future consideration. The former category consists of Luke Nevill and Aron Baynes (both of which will always be considered for their size alone) and Daniel Kickert (currently playing in Poland and capable of spreading the floor with his mid-range game). Kickert has yet to have the same opportunities as Nevill and Baynes in showing his wares internationally and could use this chance to slip into the squad down the track.

The younger guards and swingmen looking to gain valuable experience include Sydney Kings Ben Madgen, Luke Cooper and Anatoly Bose, new Melbourne Tigers signing Daniel Dillon and the Wollongong Hawks' Rhys Martin. Particular focus will be on the ability of Madgen and Bose to score and Dillon to handle the pressure of backing up Martin at the point.

Cam Tragardh has been brought into the team to provide a scoring presence in the middle, something that Nevill, Baynes and to a lesser extent Kickert fail to provide. "Trigger" is not known for his defensive hustle, so that area may be the determining factor in how many minutes Brett Brown can play him for. Contrastingly, Perth Wildcats big Jesse Wagstaff, who was injured in the second half of the NBL season, will be relied upon for rebounding and defence. 

Bolstering squad members for the five-day training camp have been the likes of youngsters Tom Jervis (Perth) and AIS scholarship holder Dante Exum. Exum has gained significant attention, as he is only 15 years of age (16 in July) and slightly built; a boy amongst men. He is the son of former NBL import Cecil Exum, of Geelong Supercats fame. Brown has been quoted as seeing him as a future Boomers fixture.  

As part of this month's friendly basketball series between Australia and China, the YouYi ("friendship") Games, it is interesting to read that a new face (with money attached) has entered the basketball landscape.

Basketball in Australia has a had well-publicised financial problems in recent years and thus interested, benevolent benefactors to professional teams are always well-received. The latest name to enter the fray is Professor Clive Palmer.

From the financial pages of the Sydney Morning Herald:

CLIVE'S BOOMERS

That does not mean those in the mining community are not digging in for charitable acts of their own.

As part of his one-man tour of Australia's major sporting codes, Professor Clive Palmer - the ex-rugby league winger and owner of the Gold Coast United football team - is sponsoring basketball's YouYI games.

The billionaire is pouring in cash and the use of his private jet,

Mineralogy, to help transport the Boomers, Australia's national team, to Perth to take on China's tall timber on Friday.

Has he ditched soccer for a newer, shinier code?

The ''Mineralogy Boomers'' does have a nicer ring to it than ''United Mineralogy'' with its socialist/mining-tax-supporting overtones.

If Palmer is interested in injecting his funds into an NBL team, I'm sure there would be some interested from Larry Sengstock and co. A man with a sporting background and financial backing is a great asset to any sport.

The YouYi Games, organised by Andrew Vlahov, hit Perth on Friday 24 June, featuring what can be essentially described as an Australian development squad. 

Andrew Bogut, Luc Longley, Ben Madgen, Luke Schenscher, John Rillie, Patty Mills, Andrew Gaze... what do all of these guys have in common? They're all Australians who have been through the American NCAA college basketball system. And like so many others before and after them, they've been exposed to a whole other culture in athletic achievement for young sports studs.

Numbers of Aussies in the NCAA are increasing every year, as international scouting spreads its wings and as the kids from downunder make names for themselves as solid athletes of solid character. One college in particular has embraced the Aussie spirit: the St Mary's College Gaels. The 2010-11 roster boasts four Australians in Jorden Page (6'1" G), Mitchell Young (6'9" F), Matt Dellavedova (6'4" G) and Clint Stiendl (6'7" G/F). Additionally, the Gaels have recently seen school all-time leading scorer Daniel Kickert (Poland), big man Ben Allen (Townsville Crocodiles) and Patty Mills (Portland Trail Blazers) go through their ranks -- thus, the "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" chants are well entrenched at St Mary's. 

Part of what makes Australian youngsters so attractive is the Australian Institute of Sport program. After coming through the AIS, talented players have already been fostered in an environment that teaches them discipline, organisational skills and solid basketball fundamentals. In short, College programs have had some of their work done for them. 

Boti Nagy of the Adelaide Advertiser wrote a short piece the other day about the fact that 180 Aussies are currently in the US college basketball system. It's worth a read.

This guy goes to show that you don't necessarily need Shaq-like size behind you to shatter a backboard. Just the right angle and perhaps a rim that wasn't really designed to be dealt with disrespect.

Alex Roth, a high schooler from West Salem, Oregon puts a halt to proceedings in this game with a putback dunk that shatters the glass, bringing the rim down.

Video courtesy of the Oregonian.