BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN’S Riffa claimed third place overall yesterday in the Macau stop of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour.
The kingdom’s representatives made it through to the semi-finals but lost to eventual champions Ub Huishan NE of Serbia 15-21 and had to settle for their final classification.
The event marked the 12th meeting on this year’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour – the premier international street basketball competition visiting various cities across the globe.
The series will be coming to the kingdom in less than two weeks’ time for the second edition of the Manama Masters, taking place November 1 and 2 at Bahrain Financial Harbour. It will feature 14 teams, one of whom are Riffa.
The FIBA 3x3 World Tour will be holding a tournament in Abu Dhabi this Saturday and Sunday before playing in Bahrain.
In their semis clash with Ub Huishan NE yesterday, Riffa conceded five unanswered points to allow the Serbians to take a 10-5 lead, and they never recovered. They fell behind by as many as seven the rest of the way, and after two Dennis Donkor free-throws brought Riffa to within 15-20, Nemanja Barac scored the clinching bucket that helped his team reach the 21-point target.
Donkor and Caspar Augustijnen had five points apiece to pace Riffa in the loss, while Thibaut Vervoort added four and Jonas Foerts had one point.
Earlier yesterday, Riffa were dominant in a 22-14 win over Liman, also from Serbia, in the quarter-finals. Vervoort sealed the result with a basket from beyond the arc with close to three minutes still remaining.
Donkor finished with eight points in their triumph while Vervoort and Foerts each contributed six. Augustijnen had two points.
Ub Huishan NE went on to win the Macau title after defeating Paris of France 21-16 in the final.
The Manama Masters will be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Aside from Riffa, also taking part are Liman, Paris, Raudondvaris Hoptrans of Lithuania, Lausanne of Switzerland, Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy of Mongolia, Hangzhou and Chongming of China, Podgorica Kodio of Montenegro, Barcelona of Spain, Sagamihara Enndaruma of Japan, Shanghai JUSS of China, Al Wakrah of Qatar, and Orlando of the US.
Furthermore, there will be a women’s competition as part of the 3x3 festivities, as well as a dunk contest and a shoot-out.
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