3x3 Quebec Challenger 2022 - Pool Stage Recap

The 3x3 World Tour makes its second stop in Canada for 2022 with the Quebec Challenger, the Old Port in Quebec City playing host to a gaggle of top basketball talent looking to scoop up one of the places in October's Cebu Masters were up for grabs.

Before the tournament proper got underway, the qualifying draw saw six teams look to join them, though only one team from the first group and, strangely, two from the second would earn the right to compete in the main tournament. Buoyed by local support and ten points from Gabe Riche, Montreal blew out Santiago 22-10 in the opening qualifying game before entering into a more evenly matched encounter with Swedish team Lidingo City.

There were nine lead changes and no more than two points ever standing between them, with much of Montreal's points coming from Mukiya Post, who stepped up when it mattered and brought the team to within one late on before hitting two from the line at the last second, the game-winning points for the Canadian team.

Two wins from Montreal earned them a place in the main draw, meanwhile Old Montreal had a tumultuous start to the other qualifying pool: with Washington DC a point from victory they put up five unanswered, but no more than that and the American team came away with the win.

Old Montreal then faced fellow Canadian team Winnipeg in what could prove a very profitable match-up for the victors. Winnipeg put the first five points on the board but through their outside shooting Old Montreal closed the gap, then tied the scores four times before Cole Syllas gave them their first lead of the game.

The Winnipeggers then caught fire from beyond the arc but Old Montreal responded with a 4-0 run which brought to within a point of victory. Steven Wesley tied the scores for Winnipeg and with neither team able to put the game to bed in the last the game went to overtime. There Cole Syllas would be the hero, laying in game winner and finally bringing the heated all-Canada clash to a close.

Winnipeg's only hope at qualifying meant they would now have to overcome Washington DC, but were set back 7-1 early on and their struggles only continued. They were held to just eight points in the game which was decided with over a minute still to go; without a win it was the end of the road for Winnipeg as their two vanquishers moved on to the main draw.

Montreal progressed to Pool D, where they were made short work of by Chicago, who were comfortably in control and ran out to a thirteen-point win. The Quebecers now could not afford a loss to Warsaw if they were to keep their hopes alive, but were straight away on the back foot after the Polish team opened with five unanswered points.

Mukiya Post and Gabe Riche made it a close game before Warsaw increased their lead to six, in response Post hit six in a row - only Przemyslaw Zamojski had nine to finish the game off for Warsaw, the winners by five. Warsaw followed this up with a one-point win over Chicago to claim the pool.

Similarly, Old Montreal were held to eight points in their first pool game against Marijampolė before their second encounter with Washington DC. Like the first time, the American team had the lead early on, but it was a narrow one with Old Montreal's high-percentage play in the paint kept the scores close.

Vincent Dufort put Old Montreal in front from beyond the arc, but DC were quick to make up the difference and the scores were tied going into the final stretch. DC's Keaton Wallace and Old Montreal's Cole Syllas both tried to win the game in the last seconds of regulation and again in overtime, where a Vincent Dufort layup in heavy traffic would be the decider for this contest and the game winner for Old Montreal.

Washington went on to blow out Marijampolė by ten points and with every team in Pool C on the same win-loss record, placement was decided on each team's scoring. This big result here meant Washington would be pool winners and as their win was the least of the three, Old Montreal would be the one who would miss out.

Lublin faced an early exit after heavy defeats to Riga and Omaha, leaving the Latvians and Americans to fight it out to decide who would win Pool A. Their match-up was close from the start and though Riga tried to build some momentum, Omaha were quick to turn the game around in their favour. After taking the slender lead Malik Hluchoweckyj's shooting would put the win out of reach for Riga, who had to settle for second place behind Omaha, who ended day one with a five-point win.

As for Pool B, Isaiah Wilkerson led Princeton over Versailles, for whom Hugo Suhard attempted to mount a comeback before Princeton dominated in the paint during the final stage of the game, closing out the win by four points.

It looked like a repeat for the French team after falling behind to Hamburg early on, only this time after keeping the gap close Versailles edged in front and their accuracy from two-point territory would get them over the finish line. It was last chance saloon for Hamburg against Princeton and the German club looked good early on with a five point lead. Yet in the final stretch a 7-2 run from Princeton closed out the game and ensure their place in the knockout round.

A busy day of 3x3 saw plenty of highlight moments and interesting results which should make for a exciting end to the tournament on day two. Though there is no more local interest there is still much more great basketball to come in Quebec, check back here to see it and find out more over on the official website of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour.