After a breakout FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2022, Mongolian rising star A.Anand is set to take his highly entertaining game to new heights this year.

The 25-year-old stamped himself as one of the best players in Asia after averaging 7 pgg on the World Tour as the leader of Sansar MMC Energy and he was part of Mongolia’s campaigns at the Crelan FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022 and FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2022.

He stamped himself as the  real deal by torching opponents in the Manila Masters, where he scored 30 points in 4 games.

The 6ft. 5in (1.96m) flame thrower poured in buckets with style marked by the lanky A.Anand having the insane ability to twist his body in the air like an Olympic gymnast.

Such his ridiculous shot making ability, A.Anand was voted by the fans as the Most Spectacular Player on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2022. He beat out some of 3×3’s best players such as Strahinja Stojacic (Ub Huishan NE) and Thibaut Vervoort (Antwerp) to underline his popularity among fans.

As he steadily rises in 3×3, the next challenge ahead of A.Anand this year is to become recognized among the World Tour’s elite. To do that he needs to help Sansar get onto the World Tour more regularly having last year only qualified to the Masters in Manila and Cebu. The 32-year-old has been a pioneer in the rise of 3×3 in Mongolia, where the one-hoop game is the most popular team sport in the East Asian landlocked country.

But if A.Anand goes up a level then Sansar might well become the new top dogs of Mongolia, who are becoming a breeding ground of talented 3×3 players due to the game’s professional status there.  With the Asia Cup 2023 in Singapore set to launch the 3×3 season in March, we’ll soon see whether A.Anand has taken the leap in his career.  (FIBA)