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The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is pushing for the inclusion of three-on-three basketball in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann told USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt on Thursday.
The request is under consideration by the International Olympic Committee, which is expected to announce its decision regarding the proposed event next June. Baumann is hopeful, if not necessarily optimistic, that the IOC's decision will go FIBA's way.
"I want a favorable response. Expecting (a favorable response) is too much," he told Zillgitt. "It’s in the hands of the (IOC) executive committee. I know their thinking, what they like to do, the changes they want to make so of course three-on-three fits very well in that."
FIBA reportedly applied to have three-on-three instated at this summer's games in Rio, but the IOC rejected it back in 2013, saying "any request from international federations that would result in a higher number of athletes or increased number of medals, thereby adding to the cost and complexity of the games, would not be considered."
Baumann said FIBA would consider limiting the number of countries participating in five-on-five play if it meant accommodating three-on-three.
"We've said we're happy to make a compromise," he said, "... as long as we keep a solid and strong five-on-five competition."
