3x3 Montreal Masters 2022 - Pool Stage Recap

The Place des Festivals in the heart of downtown Montreal played host to the biggest 3x3 tournament to be held in Canada during 2022. Twelve teams made the trip to the Quebecois city - some who qualified through the earlier Edmonton Challenger - and were joined by two native outfits. All were looking to take one of the country's most vibrant cities by storm and pick up the latest World Tour prize.

Both Gatineau and Old Montreal saw off Sao Paulo in the qualifying draw, though the latter more comfortably than the former, leaving them to fight it out the open spot in the main draw. A three-point lead went back and forth between them early on and as time ticked down the game became balanced on a knife edge. Tied at 18 apiece, a two from Khalifa Koulamallah followed up by a final jump shot by Alain Louis saw Gatineau claim the spot in Pool D.

They opened the tournament proper against Ulaanbaatar, where fellow Canadian Steve Sir scorched them from beyond the arc. The Mongolian team had an eight point lead after three minutes, Gatineau went on a six-point run to close the gap to one. Gatineau kept trying to push, but Ulaanbaatar would bring the game to a close with a four-point run and them the winners.

Sir and Ulaanbaatar were then put to the sword by Vienna, who hit five two-pointers in a row and continued to dominate from beyond the arc, running to victory 21 points to 15 with over a minute and a half remaining. Home hopes were raised after Gatineau's early success in the paint against Vienna, but they eventually ran out of steam and the Austrians pounced. Stefan Stojacic hit four from beyond the arc, leading all on the floor and lifting Vienna to the eight-point victory which saw them through to day two as pool winners.

In Pool B Winnipeg had a slow start against Sakiai, the Lithuanians leading by three to start only for Paris Kyles to prevent their lead growing any larger. Winnipeg kept it close and then Kyles gave them their first lead and Sakiai, suddenly on the back foot, turned to Modestas Kumpys to try and instigate a last-minute turnaround. Kyles and Wyatt Anders put the result beyond doubt with a 4-0 run, the final score 18-17 to Winnipeg.

Sakiai had revenge on San Juan, rebuilding a seven-point lead the Puerto Ricans cut down but were not able to turn around. San Juan then fell behind early on against Winnipeg but struck back from the field and amassed an ever-growing lead. Winnipeg were left with only occasional looks at basket while San Juan ran to victory by seven points. Winnipeg's earlier win not enough to see them through, as San Juan here stole the quarter final spot from them.

In Pool A Riga were dominant early and often in their opener against Lublin and fought back when the Polish team attempted to cut down their lead to open in Montreal with a seven-point win. They were similarly strong in their second game against Omaha, though were trailing to begin with they ended with an 8-1 run to end the game winners 21-14.

Omaha and Lublin were left to fight it out for the runners-up spot and went down to the wire. After a five-point Lublin lead Trey Lansman led Omaha into a far closer encounter, the scores eventually standing at twenty apiece when Lansman hit the outside shot which booked Omaha's place on day two.

One of the most exciting match-ups of the day saw Canyon Barry hit eleven points for Princeton, who were otherwise left puzzled by Beijing. After three lead changes the team from China amassed a five point lead, Barry was on hand to close the gap but could not force a Princeton win. The game ended up in OT, where Yuanbo Zhu sank the game winner for the underdogs.

Barry and Tyrone Nash then combined for a 8-3 start against Chicago, who started to hit back but were undone by Princeton's relentless close-range offence. Chicago kept it a single possession game but drawing fouls and converting from the line would be what would get the win for Princeton, who now faced a wait to see if that was enough to see them through.

In the last game of Pool C Chicago tried to untangle themselves from Beijing but could not build on their early momentum. Three separate four-point runs late in the game from Beijing would send Chicago packing and see themselves the surprise winners of this section.

Beijing and Princeton advance from this pool to face Omaha and Riga respectively at the start of the knockout stage. Steve Sir and Ulaanbaatar survived the first day and will be facing Sakiai in the quarter finals, at the same time Vienna and San Juan will also be playing for a semi final space.

Check back here to see the conclusion of all the action in Montreal and for more follow this link to the official FIBA 3x3 World Tour website.