2024 Hoop It Up San Francisco Recap

Posted On August 14, 2024August 14, 2024

The wait continues for the WNBA in the Bay Area even after the announcement of the Golden State Valkyries starting, but there was women’s professional basketball at Chase Center on Sunday. 3×3 basketball gained notoriety this summer again with USA Basketball getting automatic qualification to the Olympics for both of their national teams. The women’s team captured the bronze medal while the men’s team struggled, leading many to wonder about the state of the format in the United States. Hoop It Up has toured the country putting on events for decades, but has recently put on tournaments using most of the international rules and returned to San Francisco this year.

Format

The event had multiple tournaments in a variety of categories, including a wheelchair division. There were many boy’s and men’s divisions covering different ages and competitiveness levels with a Pro-Am tournament featuring prizes. On the women’s side, there was an option for teams to sign up for adult recreational or Pro-Am formats, but the number of teams meant that there was one tournament alongside multiple divisions for girls. Three main courts were set up in the Thrive City area outside of Chase Center using the tile floors popular for high level outdoor play internationally and allowing room for seats for spectators. Most of the youth competitions took place outside of the arena complex on concrete courts set up on a closed down section of 16th Street.

Pool Play

After the signup process was complete, there were eight registered teams, but only six squads made it to the event to compete so they were divided into two groups with a pair of guaranteed group games and at least one knockout round game. All of the teams ended up bearing the names of teams from the WPBA and featured their players. Pool B had their champions, the Bay City Blaze, and they won both of their games leaving the Hayward Reign to edge out the Berkeley Royals for second place.

In Pool A, the San Francisco Riptide did not win a regular season game, but won their first game decisively, setting up the last game in the group to decide the top spot. It was an excellent game that went to overtime before Delia Moore, who suited up for the Oakland Swish alongside Mira Love-Sangco, Madison Michelis, and Lauren Richter after playing for the Bay Area Phoenix in the WPBA, hit the winning shot. The Tech City Titans were the other team in the group, losing twice.

Knockout Rounds

With only six teams in the field, two teams received a bye for the quarterfinals instead of the original plan of giving all eight teams a knockout round game. The Riptide, which had no substitutes, fielding the trio of Stefanie Young, Jasmine Kong, and Holly Shafer, managed to hit the jumpshots that mattered, withstanding Rokia Doumbia hunting matchups to advance past the Royals. The Reign defeated the Titans in the other quarterfinal, advancing to face the Swish in the semifinal. The group winners could not get their shot falling in that game after the break and Mo Bennett’s energy helped the Reign win. The Blaze, featuring their Tournament of Champions MVP Ameela Li, took care of Riptide in the other semifinal with the benefit of a full roster. The teams did not end up playing a final game.

The Future

3×3 basketball is set to be in the Olympics again in four years and it remains to be seen how much more interest that it will generate in the United States in the next cycle. The format and outdoor play make it great for a multi-venue event like this one and Chase Center and the surrounding area provided good locations for these tournaments. The Warriors were good hosts and even offered an additional prize for the Men’s Pro-Am tournament with tryout invitations for the Santa Cruz Warriors. With the Valkyries playing next year, it would be a great opportunity to expand the women’s side of the event. For the tournament organizers, finding a way to offer more prizes on the adult side would increase the chances of a fully successful tournament given the women’s tournament not playing out completely and the prizes on the men’s side being winners-only leading some teams to not play out their schedule. Refereeing and technology also proved to be contentious issues over the course of the day, which was disappointing to witness on the three main courts.

Besides Hoop It Up, there have been other organizations that have put on significant 3×3 events around the country in recent years. Red Bull organized an indoor event for their tour in Oakland, but has stopped the nationwide summer circuit. WNBA teams actively invested in club teams during those days and that could be an area that gains support again. With the weather in the Bay Area suitable for outdoor tournaments for a significant portion of the year, San Francisco and other cities could continue be contribute to the scene in the country.