Participants compete in a men's 3x3 basketball event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics 3x3 basketball test event at Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo, Japan May 16, 2021. REUTERS/Naoki Ogura

June 21 (Reuters) - Focus on 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:

THE ABSOLUTE BASICS * The game is basically the same as traditional basketball, but played on a half court and with three players active instead of five. One substitute player sits on the bench.

* A regular basket is one point, but a goal from the three-point line of standard basketball gives you two. * The match has a 10-minute time span with a 12-second clock. The first team to 21 points, or the highest score when times runs out, wins.

HOW MANY MEDALS? There are eight gold medals up for grabs between the women's and men's four-person squads.

Nothing! While 3x3 (pronounced "three-ex-three") has never appeared at the Olympics before, it has enjoyed growing popularity at organised events across the globe for more than a decade.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN TOKYO?

With the United States men's team sitting out the Games, Serbia look to be the favourites, led by Dusan Bulut, the top player in the sport, followed by ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) -- so-called because Russia's team name is banned as part of sanctions for several doping scandals. On the women's side, France and Russia lead FIBA's federation rankings.

WHERE IS IT HAPPENING? The Aomi Urban Sports Park on the island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay

HOW DID WE GET HERE? 3x3 is a codified version of pick-up basketball that has been played on streets and in school gyms for decades. The sport's global organising body is FIBA based in Mies, Switzerland.

DJs play hip-hop music throughout competition 3x3 games, adding to the stylish vibe of this emerging sport. Women and men use a specialised 3x3 ball, which is slightly smaller than the sort used in the NBA.

Source: Reuters

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