LATVIA,RIGA – On May 13, the youth street sports and culture movement “Ghetto Games” will open its 15th anniversary season at the Grīziņkalns sports complex. The special event of the event will be the first round of the Baltic 3×3 League.
Registration will start at 11:00 a.m., opening of the event at 12:00 p.m. Teams can apply until 13:00 of the previous day, all players who have reached the age of 13 must have a FIBA 3×3 player profile. 7 groups will play the opening games – U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17, Lady, Open and Pro.
“Once upon a time, our goal was not to enter the Olympic Games and win medals, but thanks to the 3×3 national team, we can no longer set such goals. Therefore, this year, in cooperation with the “Latvijas Basketbola Savienība”, we will give young people the opportunity to improve, so that in the future the Olympic Games will not be a coincidence, but the norm for Latvian 3×3 basketball. And, of course, our constant priority is to motivate young people outside of school and training to develop both physically and morally in a sporty, fun and lively environment,” says Raimonds Elbakyan, the leader of “Ghetto Games”, about the upcoming season.
Throughout the 2023 season (May through August), 18 Ghetto Basket rounds will be played, each offering competition that includes different age groups and a professional league. This season, players will be divided into 10 groups including U-11, U-12 Girls, U-13, U-14 Girls, U-15, U-16 Girls, U-17, Lady, Open and Pro. As such, Ghetto Basket is open to anyone who wants to participate, regardless of age or level of experience in the sport.
Out of 18 stages, 7 stages will form the Baltic 3×3 league. 2 of these 7 stages will take place in Riga, and the remaining 5 will be trips to other Latvian cities and Baltic countries – Tallinn, Vilnius, Valmiera, Daugavpils, Ventspils. The super final will take place in Ventspils, where the road sign to the “Laussane Masters FIBA” 3×3 tournament will be played. The winners of 6 stages and the 12 best teams from the ranking will play in the super final. These stages will allow teams to compete in other regions and show their skills and abilities against new opponents.
In parallel with the games of the Baltic 3×3 League, the usual “Ghetto Basket” tournaments will also take place. The super final of the “Ghetto Basket” season will be held on August 12 in Grīziņkalni, and it will be the culmination of this season.
“Ghetto Basket” has become one of the leading 3×3 basketball tournaments in the Baltic States, in which both men’s and women’s teams participate. It is also an important event in the life of Latvian sports, which provides an opportunity for young people, as well as experienced professionals, to use their abilities and skills to compete and develop themselves.
This season, the program includes such events as the “Ghetto Fight” fighting tournament, the “Ghetto Dance” dance competition, the “Ghetto Football” and “Ghetto Football” tournaments, the international competition football frist, and for the first time the international 3v3 football “Ghetto Football” will be held in Grīziņkalni World Cup 2023″ with participants not only from Europe, but also from Japan and South America.
This year, the big “Ghetto Carnival” will take place in Valmiera and Daugavpils, and the traditional annual three-day “Ghetto Games” festival will also take place in Ventspils. For the first time, the “Ghetto Games” events will be held in Tallinn and Vilnius, where everyone will have the opportunity to fight for a ticket to the “FIBA 3×3 Masters” tournament in Lausanne within the Baltic League.
“Ghetto Games” is a youth street sports and culture movement in Latvia and Eastern Europe, which annually gathers more than 10,000 participants and 300,000 followers in the media and social networks. More information about “Ghetto Games” events is available on the official website www.ghetto.lv.
