Edmonton Make 3x3 World Tour Return at Mexico City Masters
The 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Tour makes its first stop in the Americas for the Mexico City Masters, where Edmonton continued their exceptional inaugural season.
It was their second appearance in a World Tour tournament after finishing fifth in Chengdu. Here they found themselves in a tough Pool B with Liman, the third-ranked team in the world, and experienced Brazilian side Sao Paulo. This was going to prove a tougher test than ones they had seen before.
Everyone on the team contributed both inside and outside the arc in their first game against Sao Paulo, and they stayed in control from beginning to end, winning by the eventual final margin of 19 points to 13.
Their second pool game against Liman was a completely different story - Edmonton were limited to a handful of looks from close range, while Liman dominated when in possession. The scoring of both Mihailo Vasic inside and Stefan Stojacic outside kept Liman in control, and they ran out to a comfortable win with a final score of 21-12.
This being Liman’s second win of the day, after their earlier 21-11 win over Sao Paolo, they secured first place in Pool B. Edmonton, meanwhile, finished second and set up a quarter final match-up with Amsterdam, who topped Pool D after wins over Mexico City and Princeton, both by the same result of 21-19.
Notable results in the pool stage saw The Hague going out winless after a surprise 18-15 loss to Campinas, followed by another to Novi Sad, the latter time by ten points. Additionally, NY Harlem won first place in Pool C after beating Riga 21 points to 19.
When Edmonton returned on Day Two, they found themselves in a highly contested game against Amsterdam, but were enjoying a one-point lead after getting the first points on the board. The all-around looks of Steve Sir and Kyle Landry commanding from one-point territory saw them keep hold of that lead
Diemo Van Der Horst's offence proved troublesome for Edmonton, as Amsterdam kept the gap at no more than two points between the teams. In the final two minutes Amsterdam took a two-point lead, which Sir cut to one, only for Van Der Horst to give the Dutch team a three-point lead from beyond the arc. Working hard to prevent their opponents getting another shot off, Amsterdam claimed victory over Edmonton by 17 points to 14.
Edmonton's time in the Mexico City Masters was therefore cut shorter than when they had hoped to have gone. Even so, Steve Sir and Kyle Landry both averaged 4.3 points per game, while Landry's 7.0 rebounding average was the best of any player in the tournament.
Amsterdam went on to fall out in the semi finals 21-13 to Novi Sad, who in turn set up a meeting in the final with NY Harlem. The American team impressed in the knockout stage, first seeing off Campinas and then defeating Liman 21-18 in the semi finals. In the final, to no one's surprise, Novi Sad were dominant, and secured their second World Tour title following a ten-point victory over NY Harlem.
Picture: FIBA.com
