2017 3x3 World Tour: Saskatoon Masters Report
The inaugural Saskatoon Masters was a brilliant start to the 2017 3x3 World Tour.
Visitors to the Taste of Saskatchewan Festival (where the Masters was held) were treated to some highly skilful, fun and exciting basketball from the best teams in the Americas and Europe.
Defending champions Ljublana tipped off proceedings with a comfortable 17-11 win over Princeton. Later on, they faced more of a challenge from Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians slowed the game down and were tough and highly alert on defence. The points started coming from both teams in the last 1:30 - had the game been any longer, Rio would have been the winners. Instead, Ljubljana took it by four points.
It would also see Rio eliminated from the competition, as they had suffered a loss to Princeton earlier in the day.
Home side Saskatoon found themselves in an all-Canadian Pool B, and their matchup against Hamilton would be the tightest game of Day 1. Saskatoon were held for almost four minutes without a made basket, but terrific long-range shooting from the hosts would see them get back into the game. It finished 12-12, and in sudden death Nolan Brudehl tipped in a missed shot from Michael Linklater for the win.
Both teams would qualify for the knockout round, as they both dispatched Winnipeg on the same day.
Pool C came down to the final matchup between Liman and NY Harlem, both having won over Montreal. A back-and-forth game with both teams evenly matched, with plenty of skills on show throughout, this nail-biter was won by a two-pointer from Stefan Kojic with under a minute to go.
The biggest surprise of the Saskatoon Masters would be that, from a combination of disorganisation and faltering under offensive pressure, Hamamatsu, one of the world’s highest-ranked teams, saw themselves eliminated at the first hurdle and without a win.
The two remaining teams of Pool D, Puerto Rican side Gurabo and Humpolec from the Czech Republic, were left to battle it out for supremacy. In their matchup, Gurabo’s ability to drive to the basket and string together saw them seize control for the game most of the way. Two baskets in the final minute of time from Humpolec saw them draw to within one, but Gurabo held on to possession and ran out the clock to win both the game and their pool.
Day Two opened with Ljubljana making quick comfortable work of Humpolec, winning 18-11. On from that, impressive ball handling and a decisive two-point shot from Vladim Halimov helped Hamilton win a tight game against Liman. The team from Ontario turning out to be one of the biggest surprise packages of the Saskatoon Masters.
On paper, Saskatoon faced a tough quarter final matchup against NY Harlem, but the lower Manhattan side we’re used to seeing did not show up. NY Harlem barely defended at all and gave up too many opportunities, allowing Saskatoon a comfortable lead. Elsewhere, Zahir Carrington was big in the paint for Princeton, but Gurabo had the edge over them from the start. Their shooting from long range
In the opening semi final, Hamilton fought back against an early scoring run from Ljubljana, and in the last two minutes pulled out all the stops to keep their chances alive. The Slovenian side maintained their dominance, playing smart, defensive basketball to put Hamilton's highly impressive performance to an end.
At the start of the second semi final, it was all Saskatoon at the start, but mid-way through the game Gurabo took a big lead. The home side, however, first regained their composure, then went on a rampage to halt Gurabo before the final buzzer. Saskatoon were excellent from beyond the arc in their 21-10 win.
The crowd went wild as the home side took to the court for the final against Ljubljana, but the jubilation would be short-lived. As the game went on, Ljubljana’s physicality, strength and accuracy from long range would be too much for Saskatoon to come back from. Despite the best efforts of Michael Linklater, Ljubljana finished the game with over a minute to spare and became the first team through to the World Tour Final in October.
Outside of the main competition, Liman’s Stefan Stojacic scored six buckets and one from the bottom of the court in the Shootout final to take the top prize.
Whilst in the Dunk Contest, Justin Darlington’s elbow dunk and cartwheeling run-up out shadowed all other competitiors and made the crowds roar.
Finally, check out FIBA's Top 5 plays of the Masters for some great bits of skill from local heroes.
The 2017 World Tour gets off to a flying start, and moves on to Utsunomiya in central Japan in two weeks time. Be sure to check out the official website of this next edition of the tour for updates, news and features.
