It was a historic day when 3x3 basketball was added to the Olympic Program on 9th June 2017 and will debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Tokyo Olympics Schedule is set to stage from July 24 to August 9. The first official 3x3 event was held in 2010 at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Pickup games started blooming right after in all corners of the world, especially in urban areas, from the streets of Manila to the alleys of Hong Kong to the parks of Mumbai, and in just 7 years the game made it to the Olympics.   People rooting for the event acknowledges the fact that the Olympic spotlight will help promote 3-on-3 basketball further into the mainstream and introduce it to a new generation of fans and athletes. The hope is to mimic the success of beach volleyball, which became an Olympic sport in 1996. Parts of the world that struggle to field 12-person teams in the 5-on-5 competition, will also be benefitted as there will be greater chances to open up Olympic basketball to them.   At the 2020 Olympics, the 3x3 competition will feature 8 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams. It is set to take place for 5 days in the Aomi Urban Sports Venue from July 25-29. 3x3 is known to be unpredictable and a lot more physical. It is all about spacing, passing angles, screening, motion without the ball and strategy because it is played in such a confined space. Each player needs to have a hybrid skillset because all the 3 have to do everything - score, rebound and pass. The 3-on-3 ball is slightly smaller than the standard NBA ball, thereby easier to handle and shoot. But it’s quite difficult for taller players with larger hands to control. This emphasizes the long-range shot and the fact that a two-pointer in this sport is 50 percent more valuable than a three-pointer in 5-on-5. The Olympics will use the rules as set by FIBA. The half-court game features a 12-second shot clock, and the game ends after a single 10-minute period or when one team reaches 21 points. Every made shot inside the three-point arc is worth one point; shots beyond the arc are worth two. After a change of possession on a missed shot or a turnover, the ball must be taken back beyond the three-point arc. The same rule applies after a made basket. A team consists of four players - three starters and a substitute. There are no coaches.   FIBA officially unveiled the names of the 4 teams per gender who qualified directly to the 2020 Olympics and the 20 teams per gender who earned a ticket to the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifier during a live-streamed show in Utsunomiya, Japan on the eve of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final on November 1, 2019. The top 4 teams in the women’s category are - Russia, China, Mongolia and Romania, while the top 3 teams in the men’s category are Serbia, Russia and China together with the host nation Japan where teams will compete to grow their Tokyo Olympics Medal Tally in the newly launched much-anticipated event.