Confirmed regularity and sensation are the results of the first qualifying Olympic 3×3 basketball tournament, which took place in Hong Kong over the weekend. usport.com.ua tells you the main things you need to know about the competition.
Who won?
It will be recalled that the hosts of the tournament and seven national teams from the world-ranked countries, which were not represented in 5×5 basketball at the two previous Olympics, played at the game in Hong Kong. At the competition, one license was drawn for men and women.
In the women’s competition, four European national teams made it to the semifinals, and this is Ukraine’s main result because the women’s 3×3 basketball team of Ukraine, thanks to the victory of the European national team, got the opportunity to play in the third qualifying Olympic tournament in Debrecen on May 16-19.
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In the semifinals, Poland confidently beat the main favorite of the qualifying tournament, the Netherlands, 20:12, and first-seeded Hungary lost to Azerbaijan 19:21. In the end, Azerbaijan created a sensation by beating Poland in the final 18:17 in overtime, unexpectedly winning a license for the 2024 Olympics.
For men, the main favorites of the tournament in Hong Kong were the Netherlands and Latvian teams, which ended up playing in the semifinals. Latvia, the reigning Olympic champion in 3×3 basketball, overtook the Netherlands 15:14 in overtime and more confidently beat Austria 19:14 in the final.
Who failed?
Given that Hong Kong was played with one license each, any team from second to eighth place cannot be satisfied with their performance in the tournament.
The Netherlands national team was considered one of the favorites for both men and women. The men’s team lost to a worthy opponent, the Olympic champions Latvia, and the women’s team lost to Poland, probably the most liked team at the tournament, but lost to Azerbaijan in overtime in the final.
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Mongolia performed below expectations. Both teams were recently on the podium of the Asian Cup, and here, they did not even leave the group—both national teams became seventh, ahead of only the hosts’ Hong Kong national team.
It is worth adding that the semi-finalist men’s team, New Zealand, and the Hong Kong team lost their chances to qualify for the Olympics, as they will not play in the second or third qualifying tournaments.
Sensations
Of course, there is the women’s national team of Azerbaijan, which few consider a potential winner despite the country’s attention to 3×3 basketball. The issue of exiting the group was more relevant, but the Azerbaijani women won difficult victories over Chile 17:14 and Mongolia 13:12, after which they lost to the Netherlands 11:15.
Then, two more sensational victories over Hungary and Poland gave Azerbaijan entry into the Olympics.
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It is worth noting that American women Tiffany Hayes and Mercedes Walker (they were naturalized before the 2015 European Games in Baku), as well as local basketball players Oleksandra Mollenhauer, who plays in Spain, and Dina Ulyanova, helped create Azerbaijan’s historic success.
For the first time in the history of Azerbaijan, the country will participate in the Olympic Games in team sports.
The best players
When Latvia replaced Karlis Lasmanis before the tournament, there was concern about whether the Olympic champions would cope without him. But Nauris Miezis was on fire, having a fantastic tournament, scoring 39 points, including 10 in the semifinal against the Netherlands in the semifinal and 5 in the final against Austria. Miezis received 48.6 efficiency points, becoming the second in the rating in Hong Kong, missing only the leader of the Dutch national team, Varty de Jong (49.8).
For the women, the MVP prize of the tournament went to Tiffany Hayes, who started to “pull” her team from the first match – against Chile; she scored 8 points and made a whopping ten rebounds, setting the tone for her entire performance in Hong Kong. She scored 32 points, including 6 in the final, while playing with an injury. Hayes received 43.2 efficiency points for the tournament, while second-ranked Hungarian Fanny Shabo scored 31.2.
Best game
Here, we will note the men’s grid match between Latvia and the Netherlands in the semifinals – the two main favorites of the tournament in Hong Kong met.
It was a battle between Miezis and Worthy de Jong. Miezis did a better job, scoring a game-high 10 points and nine rebounds, including two in overtime, to send Latvia to the finals. Dae Jong responded with 9 points.
The best moments
And again… Miesis. If you need confirmation that he was “crazy” in Hong Kong, look at the ten best moments of the tournament or just the top three.
What’s next?
The second Olympic qualification tournament will be held in Utsonomy, Japan, May 3-5. Before that, the first stage of the Women’s Series will be held in the American Springfield on April 23-24, and the first men’s Masters of the season is scheduled to be held in Utsonomy on April 27-28. Read competition announcements and their results on usport.com.ua
