— New Professional Half Court 3-on-3 Basketball Continues to Draw Crowds and Entertain Fans in Holiday Weekend Showcase —
— Mike Bibby Guides Ghost Ballers to Comeback Victory and Emerges as League 4-Point Shot Leader —
(CHARLOTTE, NC) July 2, 2017 — BIG3 took the court in Charlotte on Sunday ahead of the 4th of July holiday, in front of 10,651 fans in a packed Spectrum Center. Week 2 of the professional 3-on-3 basketball league brought the same intensity and level of competition that rocked Barclays Center and thrilled fans in Brooklyn one week earlier.
Fresh off an impressive debut on Monday Night’s FS1 broadcast with almost 400,000 viewers, the league returned with an update to scoring rules, which reduced the games from first to 60 points, to first to 50, with halftime occurring when the first team reaches 25 points. The change was introduced by league co-founders Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube, in an effort to shorten game length, and maximize the fan experience. The rule tweak proved successful – accelerating gameplay and game intensity at the same time, as each possession became even more valuable.
The excitement of Sunday’s games were heightened due to the first appearance from Killer 3s co-captain Chauncey Billups, who was noticeably absent from Week 1 action. Billups told media during a postgame press conference his decision to sit out Brooklyn was in an effort to not take attention away from the league’s debut. He also shared his excitement at being back on the court and a part of the BIG3. Despite a strong showing in his reunion with co-captain Stephen Jackson, their squad the Killer 3s lost their second straight game, falling to Coach Clyde Drexler’s unstoppable Power.
Al Harrington’s Trilogy continued their winning streak, with a Week 2 victory over Rashard Lewis and the 3 Headed Monsters. And the Ball Hogs staged an impressive comeback, erasing a 15 point deficit to upset Dr. J and his Tri-State team.
Fans were also treated to an impromptu performance by Grammy Award-winning artist and Charlotte native, Anthony Hamilton. Other notable attendees included LL Cool J, who was also in the house for Week 1 in Brooklyn, Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker, and NFL star Steve Smith to name a few.
BIG3’s Week 2 games will air on Fox Sports 1 on Monday night (7/3) at 8pm ET. BIG3 Week 3 is set to light up the BOK Center in Tulsa next Sunday, July 9.
GAME 1: Trilogy (50) vs. 3 Headed Monsters (37)
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(courtesy of Fox Sports 1)
Trilogy rode the hot hand and physical play of captain Al Harrington to claim the team’s second victory of the season. Harrington led all scorers with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field, earning nine points from the free throw line and grabbing seven rebounds. Trilogy got off to a fast start to kick off BIG3 Week 2 and took a commanding 16 point lead at halftime. Rashad McCants, a driving force behind UNC’s 2005 NCAA championship, made his return to North Carolina and complemented Harrington with 13 points. In the defeat, captain Rashard Lewis led the way for the team with 17 points and Eddie Basden finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
GAME 2: Power (50) vs. Killer 3s (45)
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(courtesy of Fox Sports 1)
Killer 3s captain Chauncey Billups dropped 15 points including two 4-pointers, and his co-captain Stephen Jackson added 18 points on 60% shooting from the field (9-15). Billups knocked down a deep shot to give Killer 3s a 26 to 24 halftime lead, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Power riding the momentum of the team’s Week 1 victory. After going down 37 to 41, Power scored 13 of the game’s final 17 points. Power’s captain Cuttino Mobley led all scorers with 23 points and sealed the game at the free throw line with back to back makes. Paul McPherson, stepping in for the injured Corey Maggette, helped to propel the team to victory with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
GAME 3: Ball Hogs (50) vs. Tri-State (44)
[brid video=”149939″ player=”9122″ title=”Ball Hogs (50) vs. TriState (44) week 2 highlights “]
(courtesy of Fox Sports 1)
The Ball Hogs overcame a 15 point deficit in the second half to take the victory in Week 2 on the hot shooting of Rasual Butler and Derrick Byars. The duo teamed up for 38 of the team’s total points, including three 3-pointers from Butler and a 4-pointer from Byars. Tri-State’s Mike James scored 17 points and the team out rebounded the Ball Hogs 23 to 21. After the game, Ball Hogs captain Brian Scalabrine commended Butler and Byars for their standout games, reminding fans that they were his top two picks in the BIG3 Draft. Ball Hog’s coach Rick Barry praised his team for their tenacity and fight to stay in the game and take home the win.
GAME 4: Ghost Ballers (50) vs. 3’s Company (45)
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(courtesy of Fox Sports 1)
The Ghost Ballers came up big to get the team’s first victory of the season, scoring the final ten points of the game. After being down nine points at the half, Ghost Ballers’ captain Mike Bibby turned it on and led both teams with 20 points while also solidifying his spot as the top 4-point shooter in the league with two more makes, bringing his season total to four. Ivan Johnson helped power the Ghost Ballers comeback with a physical 19 points and seven rebounds. For Allen Iverson’s 3’s Company, Dermarr Johnson added 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss while Andre Owens scored 14 points of his own and had seven rebounds.
BIG3 will bring over 40 basketball All-Stars like Allen Iverson, Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving, Gary Payton, Kenyon Martin and more to US cities throughout the country this summer, as the eight teams compete for the title of 2017 BIG3 Champions.
For more information and to sign up for news updates, visit www.BIG3.com.
