3x3 basketball popularity in Shenzhen

The finals of the 14th KFC 3x3 Basketball Championship 2017 kicked off in Shenzhen on Dec 3. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The finals of the China KFC 3x3 Basketball Championship 2017, the 14th edition of the event, were held in Shenzhen on Sunday. The tournament is one of the country's most influential of its kind.

Recently, three-player basketball has gained increasing popularity in the southern city. Last month, Luohu district organized a contest that attracted 180 local teams of both male and female players of different ages.

At the National Games in September, Shenzhen's team won the silver medal in men's 3x3 basketball, second only to the gold medalists of the KFC-sponsored battle, a team from Jilin province in the northeast of China.

Starting from September, more than 430,000 students from over 4,600 schools participated in the competition, with 32 teams making it to the finals at the campus of Shenzhen University.

The Championship has become one of the most important projects for the healthy lifestyle strategy of the Yum China company, which has also sponsored marathons and other sport activities.