BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S Riffa were crowned champions of the Lanzarote Challenger, held on the Spanish island as part of this year’s International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3x3 calendar.
Riffa secured the title after beating Princeton of the US 21-16 in the final.
They had earlier qualified for the decider after taking out Vienna, of Austria, 21-10 in the quarter-finals, which they followed up with a 21-17 triumph over Lausanne of Switzerland in the last four.
They were awarded in a ceremony after the championship game. Riffa’s Jonas Foerts was also named the Most Valuable Player.
The result earned Riffa their second straight victory in a Challenger event on the FIBA 3x3 calendar. They had previously also taken the Pristina Challenger title last week in Kosovo.
Along with their victory, Riffa qualified for the Macau Masters, set to take place this October as a round of this year’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour. This is the leading global street basketball series under FIBA. It will make a stop in Bahrain later this year with the Manama Masters, scheduled for November 1 and 2.
In the Lanzarote final, Dennis Donkor continued his fine form and had two early baskets from beyond the two-point arc to help Riffa take a 6-3 lead. They never wavered from there, going up by five midway through. A Vic Van Oosterwyck two-pointer gave them their biggest lead of the night of six, 16-10, with just under four minutes to go.
Later, Princeton cut the deficit to just two, 16-18, following three straight points from Henry Caruso and Damon Huffman, but Riffa sealed the win and the title after reaching the 21-point target on baskets by Van Oosterwyck and Foerts.
Van Oosterwyck spearheaded a balanced attack by Riffa in the final with six points, while Donkor, Foerts and Caspar Augustijnen finished with five apiece. Caruso was the top man for Princeton with six markers.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Riffa edged past Lausanne with some late-game heroics from Foerts. The big man buried a bucket from long range for an 18-15 advantage with a minute left, and after another shot to go with an Augustijnen conversion, Foerts supplied the winner with just six seconds to go
Foerts had nine points as Riffa’s leading scorer in the game.
In the quarter-finals, Riffa were dominant against Vienna. They never trailed and after a 2-2 deadlock, went on a 17-3 run that virtually sealed the win. Van Oosterwyck supplied the clincher.
Foerts was again the top man with nine points.
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