TOKYO (AP) — With a DJ spinning records and games lasting less than 15 minutes, the 3-on-3 version of half-court basketball made its Olympic debut.
The sport sells itself as streetball, and it shares some resemblance to the playground game it is based on. In other ways, it's like a completely different sport. Referees oversee the action and TV timeouts interrupt play twice a game.
The U.S., where the game was born and perfected, did not qualify a men's team for the Games. Mongolia's women are here, though.
All of it is part of the Olympics' attempt to bring a younger audience to the games and spread the sport around the globe. Serbia's Dusan Bulut, the game's top-ranked player, says it's more than a game to him, but a way of life.