It was the first IWBF 3x3 wheelchair basketball competition, and the chair of the IWBF's Competition Commission Charlie Bethel said he was happy with the discipline launching.

"We are delighted to see the sport of 3x3 get underway on the international stage," said Bethel before the tournament.

"One of the goals is to use 3x3 as a tool to encourage and develop those countries that may face increased challenges and obstacles to access the sport due to the financial cost of equipment or smaller numbers of participants. 

"This is exactly what we are seeing in Africa, as we welcome new members to the IWBF wheelchair basketball family and teams are making their international debut in Johannesburg."

IWBF was supposed to hold the 3x3 Open World Championship last year, but this was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With two teams in the women's tournament, South Africa only had to beat Kenya, and did so on two occasions.

In a best-of-three, they defeated Kenya 12-1 and then took a 12-2 victory to top qualification.

Despite having to play more games, the men's team had a straightforward run to the final too.

First they won 14-6 against Kenya and then 21-1 against Namibia.

They finished off the preliminary round with a 21-2 victory over The Gambia and a 21-6 win against Rwanda.

Kenya met them in the final, recovering from the pool defeat to beat Rwanda 16-3.

An 11-1 victory over Namibia and a 9-8 win against The Gambia secured a top two spot.

The Gambia finished third, Namibia fourth and Rwanda were bottom of the table.

In the final, South Africa defeated Kenya 18-10.