BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 25, 2025) — Canada’s 3x3 Men’s National Team secured its return to the world stage with a 21-12 win over Rwanda on Sunday, clinching one of three available spots at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup Qualifier held May 24–25 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The qualification marks Canada’s first appearance at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in seven years, and only its second all-time — the last coming in 2018.

“The weekend went great,” said Canadian 3x3 Men's National Team athlete, Steve Sir. “We took another big step in pushing the Canadian men’s 3x3 program forward. The guys, the support staff, the entire team really came together and made every day count in order to make sure we accomplished the goal we came out here to do. It’s one more exciting step to continue to build 3x3, and we’re excited that we now have a chance to go and pursue the World Cup in Mongolia.”

Canada topped Group B with a pair of convincing wins on Saturday. The team opened the tournament with a 21-14 victory over Great Britain, led by eight points from Sir and seven from Grant Audu.

Later that evening, Sir once again paced all scorers with 10 points as Canada cruised past host Azerbaijan 22-7. Audu added seven, while Jérôme Desrosiers chipped in five.

Advancing to the second round as group leaders, Canada faced Rwanda — the runner-up from Group A — with a World Cup berth on the line. Desrosiers led the way with seven points in the decisive win, while Audu and Alex Johnson contributed five apiece. Sir finished with four.

"The World Cup is a major international competition, and for Canada to keep growing this program, we need to have a presence at events like this to show our quality and our commitment to the sport," Sir added. "We haven’t been there since 2018, so this is something to be really excited about. Especially considering the weekend we’ve had — we not only played well, we played very well, and showed a real commitment to the team and to what it means to represent Canada.

"Everyone here is excited for what comes next — the big one, the World Cup.”

Canada’s roster featured Desrosiers, Johnson, Audu and Sir — the latter a veteran of Canada’s 2018 World Cup team and the only returning player from that appearance.

With qualification secured, Canada now turns its focus to the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2025, set for June 23–29 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.