By Duncan Mackay

August 24 - Miami Beach will host the inaugural final of basketball's FIBA 3x3 World Tour season next month, it has been announced today.

The event, on September 22 and 23, will be the culmination of a series which has seen events held in Sao Paulo, Vladivostok, New York, Istanbul and Madrid.

It will feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six. 

The winners will recieve $30,000 (£19,000/€24,000) out of the total prize fund of $40,000 (£25,000/€32,000).

It is another important step for 3x3, which the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) began developing in 2007. 

The format was first tested at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau, introduced at international level at the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore and made its worldwide competitive debut at the 2010 Youth Olympics, also in Singapore.

The hope is that it will eventually be introduced into the Olympics.

"Miami Beach is the perfect location for the final of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour," said Patrick Baumann, secretary general of FIBA and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

"Like 3x3 basketball, it is young, sporty, beautiful and spectacular.

"The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau joins FIBA in believing in the immense potential of this rapidly growing discipline and FIBA is delighted to be teaming up with them."

There will also be a Samsung-sponsored Shoot-Out and a Dunk Contest.

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