Ruins of St. Paul’s host FIBA 3x3 from 17 to 18 October
Published on 10/18/2026 at 00:16 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Ruins of St. Paul’s (RuĂnas de SĂŁo Paulo) in Macau are hosting the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Macau 2026 on 17 and 18 October 2026. The tournament places international street basketball beside one of China’s best-known historic façades.
FIBA 3x3 World Tour reaches the Ruins of St. Paul’s
The Macau stop is part of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour and is being staged at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on Saturday 17 October and Sunday 18 October 2026. The event is organised by Macau’s Sports Bureau and StarMac Entertainment Production Limited, with the Macau-China Basketball Association and Chaiioi Sports Company Limited as co-organisers.
The official programme brings 16 elite teams to Macau. The tournament is part of the qualification route towards the World Tour final and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Qualification and pool matches were scheduled for 17 October, followed by the knockout stage, semi-finals and final on 18 October. The Macau October programme places the tournament directly at the landmark.
A 400-year-old façade becomes a basketball backdrop
The venue is the surviving front and stairway of the Church of Mater Dei, built between 1602 and 1640. The neighbouring remains belong to the former St. Paul’s College, which formed part of the same religious complex before a fire destroyed it in 1835.
This makes the basketball setting more specific than a city-centre sports venue. The court sits within a historic complex that also contains archaeological remains, a Museum of Sacred Art and a Crypt. The Cultural Affairs Bureau describes the site as a testimony to the first western-style institution of university level in the Far East. Its official history of the former college records the archaeological work carried out from 1990 to 1996 and the inauguration of the museum and crypt on 23 October 1996.
The event therefore brings a contemporary international sport to a place shaped by Portuguese Jesuit activity, regional craftsmanship and the long exchange between Eastern and Western cultures. The site forms part of the Historic Centre of Macao, which is recognised as a World Heritage area.
Macau’s landmark hosts two 3x3 basketball stages
The FIBA tournament is followed by the 3x3 Greater Bay Area Tour 2026 Finals from 19 to 21 October 2026. Those finals are scheduled for the Ruins of St. Paul’s and the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, extending the sporting programme beyond the two-day international stop.
FIBA reported after the opening day on 17 October 2026 that the quarter-finals were set for Sunday 18 October at the Ruins of St. Paul’s. The report named teams including Miami, Ub, Shanghai and Cotai WOLFUNITED among the sides progressing to the knockout stage. FIBA’s opening-day report confirms the continuing link between the competition and the historic venue.
Visiting Ruins of St. Paul’s: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Macau 2026 is scheduled at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on 17 and 18 October 2026. The Greater Bay Area finals follow from 19 to 21 October 2026.
- The sports programme uses the historic site as its venue, while the façade and stairway remain the defining architectural features of the visit.
- The address is Company of Jesus Square in Macau. The landmark is on the Macau Peninsula, within the Historic Centre of Macao.
- The site includes a substantial staircase leading to the surviving façade, while the former college and church remains extend behind it.
- Macau uses Chinese and Portuguese as official languages, and the national currency is the Macanese pataca.
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Frequently asked questions about Ruins of St. Paul’s
When does the FIBA 3x3 World Tour take place at the Ruins of St. Paul’s?
The Macau stop takes place on 17 and 18 October 2026. The Greater Bay Area finals follow from 19 to 21 October 2026.
Where are the Ruins of St. Paul’s and how do you get there?
The site is at Company of Jesus Square on the Macau Peninsula, within the Historic Centre of Macao.
What are the Ruins of St. Paul’s?
They are the surviving façade and stairway of the Church of Mater Dei, together with remains of St. Paul’s College and the former religious complex destroyed by fire in 1835.
