2018 3x3 World Tour: Lausanne Masters Review
One of the strongest 3x3 fields seen in a long time took to court in the Swiss city, and showed their superior skills across two days in the second European stop in the 2018 3x3 World Tour.
This was one of the most contested and unpredictable 3x3 tournaments of recent memory - nearly every team here had the potential to go all the way, and at the start, there was no telling which one would be the ultimate victors.
Piran breezed through the qualifying pool to earn a spot in the main tournament, winning both games. Defeating Tallinn 21-16 in the remaining fixture, Amsterdam also earned a vacant spot in Pool A.
In Amsterdam's first game of main competition, Novi Sad led by five for much of the way, and were up by nine with 3:30 remaining in the game before Jesper Jobse helped to narrow the gap, but Novi Sad’s Marko Savic found Dusan Bulut in the paint for the game-winning layup.
Amsterdam had their revenge later in the day with a confident win over Kranj, who’s time in Lausanne was now hanging by a thread. A six-point defeat to Novi Sad would bring it to an end, and Novi Sad and Amsterdam would be the teams coming back on day two.
Liman opened Pool B by beating Nice 21-15. The French team then lost by seven to Lausanne, ending their time in the tournament. In the deciding final pool game, Liman asserted their superiority, tripling Lausanne’s score (21-7) to win the pool, while Lausanne would also be advancing as runners-up.
Meanwhile in Pool D, Zemun led Piran to begin with 6-1, but the Slovenians closed the gap and Gasper Ovnik’s two-point shooting put them into the lead. They led by four as the game moved to its business end, but Nikola Vukovic narrowed the gap to one and Bogdan Dragovic tied the scores with under a minute remaining. The scores still tied in the dying seconds, Dragovic put up one last attempt which became a dramatic game-winner for Zemun.
Piran then scored a more decisive victory over their compatriots Ljubljana, 21 points to 17, and with Ljubljana then falling short against Zemun, Piran had earned a reprieve, while Zemun took a well-earned top spot in the pool and Ljubljana were out.
Riga won a fast-paced, high-energy game against their nearby neighbours Kaunas, with two points in the final minute giving them the win. Kaunas were then dispatched from the tournament after a loss to Humpolec, 21-17. In the deciding game of Pool C, Riga’s skill and strength from close range paid off for them, as they went through to the knockout round as pool champions after a 21-14 defeat of Humpolec.
Humpolec did not let their defeat of yesterday effect them in the quarter-finals, and they had a good start against Novi Sad leading by four early on. Good team organisation and alert offence from Novi Sad saw them first close the gap, then lead by one. Good work in the paint from Vladimir Sismilich kept Humpolec in the game, but Dusan Bulut’s outside shooting put Novi Sad even further into the lead, and he made the team’s final, game-winning shot to see them through to the final four.
Riga dominated Amsterdam in their quarter-final matchup, winning 21-9, while Liman’s victory over Piran was similarly one-sided. Lausanne, meanwhile, pulled off the biggest shock of day two - a two-point win over Zemun. The semi-finals, however, brought an end to exceptional runs in the tournament from Lausanne and the Latvians. Novi Sad made short work of Lausanne, reaching the final with a 22-8 win, and Riga were similarly dispatched from the tournament after an eleven-point loss to Liman.
Novi Sad led for much of the way in the final against Liman, though it was always a one-possession game. Novi Sad were one point from victory with just over two minutes left in the game, when Liman’s Stefan Stojacic made a layup and two-pointer to tie the scores After a number of missed attempts from both sides, Novi Sad’s Marko Savic made a shot over his defender which hit the net, and the team added another tournament to their long list of victories.
It won't be long either until much of these teams are seen again, as the next World Tour stop in Debrecen, Hungary, gets underway on Thursday the 30th. For more on the 3x3 World Tour, click here to visit the official website.
