Edmonton make their 3x3 World Tour debut
The 2019 Chengdu Masters marked the first appearance on the World Tour for Edmonton - not bad for a team still in its first year of operation.
The second stop on the 2019 World Tour, held in the central Chinese city, would be the first big test for Edmonton's capabilities, as here they would be facing some of the world's top 3x3 teams.
The Canadian team had to play the villains in their first game, where they handed the home team Chengdu a 21-17 loss, their second, meaning they were also eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile, Edmonton moved on to a game that would decide the champions of Pool A - themselves or Novi Sad, whom they had beaten weeks earlier in the Penang Challenger.
In the game itself, Novi Sad went in front early on, only for Jermaine Bucknor to help claim the lead for Edmonton mid-way through. Lapses in concentration saw the scoreline evened up as the game headed into the final stretch, but Jordan Jensen-Whyte put Edmonton up by one ahead of the final minute.
In the tense conclusion to the game, Edmonton prevented Novi Sad getting another shot off, and the scoreline stood as it was. Edmonton prevailed from this match-up and advanced as winners of Pool A.
Day two saw Edmonton take on Riga in the quarter-finals. Their next opponents lost their second pool game 18-16 to Gagarin, but secured their place in the second round after victory over West Melbourne earlier in the day.
The points came early and often, and the teams seemed evenly matched to begin with, but Riga's long-range shooting helped give them the edge. The game became increasingly tense as it went down the stretch, looking like it could go either way, but with the teams unable to be separated after ten minutes, overtime was required.
Kyle Landry put Edmonton within one point of victory in OT, but almost immediately as that point went on the board, Nauris Miezis got a shot from beyond the arc to drop - the two points Riga needed to end the game. The victorious Latvians moved on to the semi-finals, while Edmonton's tournament was over.
Jermaine Bucknor led the team in scoring with 7.0 points per game, while captain Steve Sir was the top rebounder with an average 5.3 boards, a total which saw him finish in the tournament's top five.
Meanwhile, Riga went on to make the final where they met Novi Sad, who dispatched Gagarin and Amsterdam on the way. It was a one-sided affair, with Novi Sad winning the game 21-14, and at the same time claiming the Chengdu Masters crown - their first title of the season.
Edmonton will next be in action at the Mexico City Masters, to be held on the 6th & 7th of July. More information on this tournament, the team and the World Tour can be found on the official website.
