PETRONAS 3-ON-3 GRAND FINALS ENTERS FORTH YEAR Encouragement and Excitement for Malaysian Youths Talented Malaysian basketballers will once again have the chance to show off their basketball moves at a one-day fun-filled basketball battle come Sunday, 15 February 2009.
As in the three previous years, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre will be transformed into a basketball arena where 1,500 basketball players representing 500 teams from all over the country will battle it out in style at the PETRONAS 3-ON-3 Grand Finals 2009.
Jointly organized for the forth time by PETRONAS and the Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA), the Grand Finals will give basketball enthusiasts the rare opportunity to witness and experience the fast-paced and dynamic basketball competitions to be played simultaneously by the participating teams on 17 courts, all under seven minutes per game.
The event will see teams compete in 17 categories. Of the 500 teams, 56 will compete in the coveted Champion Series, comprising four categories. These are the winners of the 10 circuits of the PETRONAS-MABA 3-ON-3 Competition 2008 season, which ended recently on 18 January 2009, and the winners of the 3-ON-3 Basketball Competition for Boarding Schools, which will conclude on 7 February 2009.
This year will also see the participation of 8 paralympic teams invited by the Malaysian Wheelchair Basketball Federation to compete in a special wheelchair category, as well as 32 teams by professional basketballers to show their basketball prowess in the adidas Super Series category.
Apart from the six categories mentioned above, basketball enthusiasts from the Klang Valley and neighbouring states will also take part in the Grand Finals, making up the remaining 444 teams contesting in nine categories.
Members of the media will also compete in a special Media category.
This year, there will be a Team Shooting Competition category for those of the nine categories who lost in the first round of the competition. Its modus operandi is to allow the teams to shoot 15 shots from the three-point line within 24 seconds, and the three teams with the highest scores will win accordingly.
The whole event, to be held in Halls 4 and 5 of the Convention Centre, is co-sponsored by sports equipment giant, adidas, and athletic ball manufacturer, Molten.
Apart from the 17 courts set up in the Halls, there is also a Main Court and a Jam Centre offering various interactive games and activities for the public.
Basketball fans and members of the public are in for a treat, having the chance to win attractive prizes through a range of interactive games and activities at the Jam Centre, such as lucky draws, science quiz, Free Throw Challenge and B-Boy breakdancing competition, hosted by adidas, Molten, PETROSAINS and PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad. The crowd will also get to experience the feel of the Formula One excitement by trying out the F1 simulator and taking a close look at a real F1 car prepared by PETRONAS Motorsports.
To enjoy all these exciting moments at the Jam Centre, one will only require to give a donation of not less than RM5 per entry, in which the total sum of collection will go to the Malaysian Wheelchair Basketball Federation.
Interested basketballers can obtain entry forms at the MABA Headquarters at Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur from today. Registration fee for each team, consisting of three players, is RM60 and the closing date is Tuesday, 10 February 2009. Each registered team will receive the 2009 PETRONAS 3-ON-3 Grand Finals jerseys. For more information, please contact MABA at 03-20788997 or visit its blog at
www.petronas3on3.blogspot.com.