2018 3x3 World Cup: Day Three Full Recap
All the teams from both men's and women's Pools B and D were back on show in a decisive day in the 2018 3x3 World Cup. The story would be over for six of them in both competitions, while for the top two in each pool, there's still another chapter to come.
Men's Tournament
Pool B began with a highly-anticipated matchup between two undefeated sides, Poland and Estonia. For much of the way, one point separated the teams and the lead flipped back and forth, until late in the game when Estonia were helped to a three-point lead by Joonas Jarvelainen. Pawel Pawlowski tightened the scoreline, but with one last push at the death Estonia emerged with a big three-point win against one of the tournament's hottest teams.
Estonia hoped to continue this run into their next game, but they were overwhelmed by a Slovenian side unrecognisable from day one - Gasper Ovnik put up big numbers for and they put the game to bed after nine unanswered points.
Japan’s top scorer Keita Suzuki helped get them their first win, 18-11 over Indonesia, after which they met up with Poland, another team fighting for survival in the competition following the loss to Estonia. Japan came back from seven points down early on as the game wound down, but at the end Poland monopolised possession and maintained their control on the game.
Slovenia capped off Pool B with a fourteen-point win over Indonesia, and back on form they finish first in the group. They were tied on wins with Poland and Estonia, and as the lowest-scoring of the three, Estonia lost out. Poland advanced at Japan's expense, who at least have the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Indonesia.
Meanwhile in Pool D, points came early and often when Croatia took on Latvia. After the Croatians took a 5-1 lead, Latvia came back to lead by three at half time. Ivan Rasetina and Duje Kaliterna had some good outside looks for Croatia that kept the scoreline tight. Edgars Krumins missed a chance to win the game for Latvia, but the team’s top scorer, Karlis Lasmanis, hit a floating shot in traffic to seal the hard-fought win for the high-flying Latvians.
Nigeria shocked, stunned and impressed with an emphatic 22-7 win over Jordan, who later lost to Ukraine, the second victory on the trot for the eastern europeans after they sent Croatia packing with an eleven-point win. Ukraine’s final pool victory over Jordan booked their place in the last eight, and Latvia rounded off the day with a 22-11 win over Nigeria, which saw them finish Pool D undefeated.
Latvia and Ukraine will both return on the final day of competition, while after a strong showing on day one, Croatia floundered against tougher opponents and paid the price. Though Nigeria will also not be going any further, their big win over Jordan will see them leave the tournament with a lot to be happy about.
Women's Tournament
Eliminated from Pool B after a heavy loss to France, Kazakhstan looked to get a win for the road against China. Despite taking an early lead and the best efforts of Zalina Kurazova, the outside scoring of Jiayin Jiang and the inside play of Zhiting Zhang won the game for China in the last minute, keeping their unbeaten record alive.
China’s win, France’s defeat of Kazakhstan and Switzerland beating Argentina 11-8 meant that the loser of the France-Switzerland matchup would be going home. France led by one up to the halfway point, when an outside shot from Marielle Giroud put Switzerland up by three. France later went back in front after five unanswered, and though Switzerland fought to the very end, two from Alice Nayo with a minute left put the win out of reach, and another from Christelle Diallo sealed it for France. Switzerland gave it their all, but France's
China capped off the pool with the tournament's biggest win, 22-4 over Argentina. They finish top of Pool B with France in second, behind them unlucky Switzerland and Argentina's memorable win over Kazakhstan had them finish fourth.
The concluding day of Pool D began with a hotly contested battle between Germany and Hungary. A defensively-minded game from the start, Germany had the lead behind Luana Rodefeld's outside shooting, but six unanswered from Hungary put them up by four. Rodefeld was doing it all for Germany, but Hungary's teamwork and close-range play saw them emerge victorious at the end of this exciting clash.
Philippines were still in search of a win, but it wouldn't come at the expense of Spain, who beat them 21 to 17. Netherlands, meanwhile, were making a push for the quarter finals - big scoring performances from Karin Kuijt and Loyce Bettonvil went a long way in their domination of Germany and nail-biting two-point win over Spain. However, Hungary won the final game of the pool against the Philippines by just enough points to win second place in the group - much to their joy and much to the horror of the Dutch.
Hungary just made it to the knockout round in second place in Pool D behind Spain, while Netherlands exit the tournament kicking themselves at how agonisingly close they got to the promotion spot. Germany's best could not overcome tough competition in this section, while the Philippines will be disappointed to bow out of their home World Cup without a win.
All the teams that won their spot in the knockout stage will know who they are next playing and what to expect after the remaining pools are decided on tomorrow. A full report of day four's action will be here, until then more can be found at the 3x3 World Cup official website.
