Purpose: To quantify the relationship between load models during official games of the novel 3 × 3 basketball sport. Methods: Forty-one adult male players were monitored across three 3 × 3 basketball official tournaments. Players wore Firstbeat Sports microsensors to quantify external (Movement Load) and internal physiological (summated-heart-rate-zones [SHRZ]) loads. Additionally, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scores were obtained after each game to calculate session RPE (sRPE) loads as internal perceived load. Repeated-measures correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationships between Movement Load and internal loads (SHRZ and sRPE), and between SHRZ and sRPE. Results: External load (Movement Load) and internal physiological load (SHRZ) had a very large correlation (r = .76, P < .001). External load was also largely correlated with internal perceived load (sRPE; r = .57, P < .001). The correlation between SHRZ and sRPE was moderate (r = .47, P < .001). Conclusion: During 3 × 3 basketball games, large to very large relationships exist between external- and internal-load variables. This information allows practitioners to anticipate internal responses of players to games based on the external load imposed, thus optimizing training-load prescription strategies.
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