The U.S. rejected the offer of 16 million won'KXO

 The U.S. rejected the offer of 16 million won'KXO

The proposal of the U.S. Princeton team was also tempting. However, I boldly rejected the U.S. team's offer because I have a clear goal of participating in the 3x3 World Cup in 2025

The opening of the FIBA 3x3 Hongcheon Challenger 2023, which will be held in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do on October 2nd and 3rd, is just six weeks away. The KXO (Korea 3x3 Basketball Federation), which co-hosts and organizes the competition with Hongcheon-gun and the Hongcheon-gun Sports Council, is speeding up preparations for the Hongcheon Challenger. 

In 2019, KXO held a series of Challengers in Inje and Jeju and invested for the internationalization of 3x3 in Korea. However, due to COVID-19 that broke out the following year, KXO's internationalization work has been stopped all the time, and in the meantimeIt was not until 2023 that KXO, which had experienced difficulties, could invest again in internationalization work.

In January this year, KXO left for Mongolia with KXO league players to train with Mongolian 3x3 national team coach, and participated in the FIBA 3x3 Workshop APAC 2023 held in Utsunomiya, Japan, on the 11th and 12th to form a network with Asian 3x3 officials.

KXO, which will also host the "2023 KXO 3x3 Jinju Tour and KXO League Round 5" in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the 26th and 27th, is busy preparing for domestic competitions and Hongcheon Challenger. 

Recently, KXO has experienced something to feel how far behind Korea's 3x3 is from the international situation. Various foreign 3x3 teams are requesting to participate in the Hongcheon Challenger with six weeks left until the opening. In the meantime, Princeton of the U.S. surprised KXO officials by offering $12,000 (about 16 million won) to participate in the Hongcheon Challenger.

Based on this year's FIBA 3x3 national rankings, 3x3 teams around the world are busy accumulating points by participating in big international competitions such as world tours and challengers, as it is determined whether they will advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics next year. Hongcheon Challenger is also a must-have competition for foreign 3x3 teams to secure points