Paris 2024 stars Mevius and Reier lead German charge in 3x3 basketball double debut at Rhine-Ruhr 2025

BOCHUM – The sport of 3x3 basketball is creating twice its normal fanfare at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games with the addition of 3x3 wheelchair basketball marking the first-ever inclusion of Para sport on the FISU Games programme.

Olympic champion Elisa Mevius (GER) has her sights set on yet another golden summer – this time on home soil.

The 21-year-old won Olympic gold in women’s 3x3 basketball at the Paris 2024 Games and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum.

Mevius leads a young German team at the FISU Games and hopes she can build on her experiences from Paris 2024.

“I was a bit of a baby in the Olympic team, but now I’m the one with more experience”, Mevius said on the website of the Deutscher Basketball Bund. “I would like to make a statement this time.”

With fast-paced play, one hoop instead of two, and six players instead of 10, 3x3 basketball is the fastest-growing urban sport in the world.

“This is a wave that is coming”, Mevius said. “I hope we continue to ride the wave and that we can maybe have more big tournaments in Germany. It would mean the world to us.”

But first, the focus is on the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games, where Germany starts as favourite for gold.

Other top picks include the United States, Poland and France. In the men’s competition, France, Lithuania, Mongolia and Latvia are expected to be among the favourites.

Unique opportunity

Rhine-Ruhr 2025 marks a twin debut for the sport, with 3x3 wheelchair basketball included in the schedule.

“This is something new, it’s very innovative, and we are very excited and happy to see this here”, Kosta Iliev, chair of the International Technical Committee for the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 basketball competition, said on the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 website.

“It’s especially great that we have 3x3 wheelchair, this new discipline which the international wheelchair (basketball) federation wants to bring to the Paralympic Games,” Iliev added. “So, the FISU Games could be one of the test events for this goal.”

Germany’s Thomas Reier will be among those to watch on the home court. The Paris 2024 Paralympic bronze medallist in 5x5 wheelchair basketball will lead the German team in 3x3.

“It is the first time that 3x3 wheelchair basketball is making its debut on this major platform”, Reier said on the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 website.

“Because of that and since these are home games where my family and friends can support me, the event is the absolute highlight of the year for me”, he said. “We want to finish in the top three and take home a medal.”

Competitions in 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball take place between 17 and 20 July in Bochum. Medals will be awarded on July 20.

FGNS ld/kc/mb