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Purpose: To determine the changes in game performance during tournament play of elite 3×3 basketball. Methods: A total of 361 men and 208 women competing in selected international tournaments had game demands assessed by wearable technology (global positioning system, inertial sensor, and heart rate) along with postgame blood lactate and perceived responses. Differences in the means for selected variables between games were compared using magnitude-based inferences and reported with effect size and associated confidence limits (CL), along with the percentage difference (ES; ±90% CL, %difference) of log-transformed data. Results: No clear differences were seen over a tournament period in PlayerLoad™ or PlayerLoad·minute−1. Tournament competition elicits variable changes between games for all inertial measures. Average peak heart rate was 198 (10) and 198 (9) beats·min−1, and average game heart rate was 164 (12) and 165 (18) beats·min−1 for men and women, respectively, with no change between games. Average game lactate was 6.3 (2.4) and 6.1 (2.2) mmol·L−1 for men and women, respectively. Average game ratings of perceived exertion were 5.7 (2.1) and 5.4 (2.0) AU for men and women, respectively. Although lactate and ratings of perceived exertion were variable between games, there was no difference over a tournament. Conclusions: The physical and physiological demands of elite 3×3 games over the duration of a tournament are similar regardless of pool or championship rounds. This may imply that maintaining technical and strategic aspects leads to success rather than minimizing fatigue through superior physical preparation. However, the physiological responses are high; caution is warranted in being underprepared for these demands in tournament play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the demands of elite male and female 3 × 3 basketball games and compare these between various competition levels. Methods: A total of 361 males and 208 females competing in the Under-18 World, Senior European, and World Championships and selected professional tournaments had game demands assessed by wearable technology (global positioning system, inertial measurement, heart rate) along with postgame blood lactate and perceived responses. Differences in the means were compared using magnitude-based inferences and reported with effect size and 90% confidence limits, along with the percentage difference (effect size; ±90% confidence limits, %) of log-transformed data. Results: PlayerLoad™ and PlayerLoad·min−1 during play was 127.5 (31.1) and 6.7 (1.5) for males and 128.5 (32.0) and 6.5 (1.4) for females, respectively, with small differences between junior, senior, and professional levels. There were small differences in accelerations >3.5 m·s−1 between competition levels up to 0.31; ±0.20, 6.9% for males and 0.29; ±0.19, 10.8% for females and for decelerations >3.5 m·s−1, 0.29; ±0.19, 15.6% for males and 0.26; ±0.19, 5.4% for females, with European Championships generally greater than other levels. Average game heart rate was 165 (18) and 164 (12) beats·min−1 for males and females, with no difference between levels. Average rating of perceived exertion was 5.7 (2.1) and 5.4 (2.0) for males and females. Conclusions: 3 × 3 basketball games require high-speed inertial movements within limited distance, creating a relatively high physiological response. Practitioners working with 3 × 3 players should endeavor to focus on the attributes that will improve these player characteristics for greater success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]