2017 3x3 World Tour Mexico City Masters Report
Beneath the searing sun of Mexico City, the best teams from Europe, the Americas and Asia faced off in the 2017 Mexico City Masters. The final stop on the 3x3 World Tour this year, this was the last chance for some teams to qualify for the grand final at the end of the month, and some were leaving nothing to chance.
In the opening game of Pool A, nice hustle from Sukhbaatar saw them take a four-point lead over Novi Sad AlWadha, but Novi Sad played smart to force the Mongolian team into too many mistakes and take victory in the tournament opener.
Sukhbaatar then played a tight game against Santos, but Fernando Fischer's consistent and accurate shooting from long range helped the Brazilian team to reach the 21-point mark first, eliminating Sukhbaatar and seeing them through to play on day two. The final game of Pool A was more of a formality, but Santos faced a complete decimation from Novi Sad. The 3x3 kings winning 21 points to 6 with just under three and a half minutes left in regulation. Both teams, though, advanced to the next round.
Wukesong's inside play saw them with the lead over Liman in the opening game of Pool B. Past the mid-point of the game, however, Wukesong completely fell asleep on defence and Liman took advantage, scoring 11 points in ninety seconds, with Aleksandar Ratkov making a wide open two-pointer to seal the game for the Serbian side. Wukesong then suffered a similar defeat to Rio Preto in the second Pool B game, the final score there 22-7, which also saw them out of the Mexico City Masters.
With both teams already through to the knockout round, the final game of Group B was a battle for supremacy between Liman and Rio Preto. The points came thick and fast shortly after the game got underway. As it went on, though, Liman started to pull away with good play both in the lane and from outside the arc. Rio Preto did to hold off Liman for so long, but in the end their defensive effort was only good enough for second place in the group. Winning here 21-15, Liman advance to day two as Pool B winners.
The only Mexican team in the tournament, UNAM first took on Sao Paulo DC in front of the home crowds. UNAM had some good looks in the high-scoring first minute of the game, but good ball movement and outside play from Sao Paulo saw them pull away from the home side, going on to win 21 points to 14.
A big step up in defence saw UNAM with a slight edge over Zemun in the final Pool B game o, but an equally big defensive effort from Zemun saw them limit much of UNAM's scoring chances. With everyone on the team playing their part, Zemun outlasted a late surge from UNAM to eliminate the Mexicans from contention. Having bested Sao Paulo 21 points to 9 earlier in the day, they advance as pool winners with Sao Paulo the runners-up.
Fresh off their victory at the Chengdu Masters, Piran began their campaign in Mexico City with a 22-10 win over Hamanatsu in Pool D. The Japanese team upped their efforts in their second game against Belgrade, yet a five-point combined run from Ivan and Dusan Popovich gave Belgrade a six-point buffer mid-way through the game - a deficit Hamanatsu could not overcome.
In the final game of the day It took Piran two minutes of play to put their first points on the board, by which time they were behind 6-1 to Belgrade. As evidenced by their efforts in boxing out and double-teaming their opponents, Belgrade seemed determined not to give up their advantage. A tense game down the stretch, with Piran threatening a comeback as they closed the gap to two points, yet composed play from Belgrade, with spot-on offence and alert defence from all their players, saw them put on the biggest upset of the day. This win over Piran would see the Serbians top the pool, putting them in an advantageous position going into the knockout round.
Day Two began with the most hotly contested game of the tournament between Novi Sad and Piran in the quarter finals. It was a back-and-forth game which Novi Sad looked to have clinched towards the end with their powerful inside play, but a miracle two-point shot from Adin Kavgic gave Piran hope. The shots kept coming from the Slovenians, and with the final play of the game Simon Finzgar found an open lane to the basket and sealed the deal with a floating layup. Piran continued to keep providing upsets, dispatching Novi Sad here 21 points to 19.
The remaining quarter finals all featured Serbian sides taking on Brazilian teams. First Zemun saw off Rio Preto 21-15, followed by an even more decisive win for Liman, who saw off Sao Paulo. In the final quarter final, Belgrade found themselves in a hard-fought matchup against Santos, whose creativity saw them put plenty of pressure on the Serbians, and even taking a four-point lead in the last two minutes. Ivan Popovic responded with a six-point scoring run to bring proceedings to an end, continuing Belgrade's impressive and exciting Mexico City Masters story.
The first semi-final between Piran and Zemun was a hard one to call. After a tight start, five unanswered points from Piran saw them take a lead of six. Zemun responded with high-intensity defence and good shot selection, preventing Piran from breaking away. Piran were one point short of victory with 1:30 to go, and Adin Kavgic failed to put the game to bed from the foul line. Zemun got themselves to within one, and a final layup from Marko Dugosija in traffic to send the more favoured team packing and by the narrowest margin, 21-20.
Belgrade found themselves in another tight matchup, this time with Liman. Belgrade were on the back foot, but their alert, high-energy defence kept them within range of their opponents. Liman’s play in the paint, either putting the ball away or drawing the foul, would help them maintain their control of the game, as did their taking advantage of some slack defence from Belgrade. A final two-pointer from Aleksandar Ratkov would be the clincher for Liman, who set themselves up for an all-Serbian final.
Liman looked to have the edge in the final, but their every move was matched expertly by Zemun. With everything to play for, neither team was prepared to give the other an easy look or convert scoring opportunities. The scores were tied at sevens for some time, a deadlock finally broken by Zemun, who took a three-point lead four minutes in. Liman responded with a six-point run, completely turning the game on its head.
Back-to-back two pointers from Stefan Stojacic gave Liman their biggest lead of the game, and continued solid close-range play from Liman brought them to within one of victory with less than three minutes to go. A final layup from their hero Stojacic saw Liman take victory in Mexico City with time to spare. Seeing past all the best teams across the weekend, Liman finished off Zemun to take the Mexico City Masters crown.
There was plenty more fun being had outside of the main tournament: Dejan Majstorovic of Novi Sad blew away all the competition in the shoot-out:
While the last places in the grand final were up for grabs in the dunk contest. The three contestants showcased plenty of high-flying moves, but there was no question in the mind of the judges or the crowds who was the champion in Mexico City:
With the Mexico City Masters now complete, all that remains on the World Tour is the grand final, to take place in Beijing on the 28th and 29th of October. The twelve best teams on the tour will be taking to the court in the Chinese capital, and with the main tour now over the final lineup is all set.
Liman, Zemun, Novi Sad, Piran and Belgrade, who all competed here, will be taking part in Beijing, and will be joined by Ljubljana, Riga, Saskatoon, Krakow, Kranj, Lausanne and Humpolec in the main draw.
Head over to the official website of the World Tour Final for more on the event and those taking part. See all you 3x3 fans at the end of the month!
