Edmonton at the 3x3 Lipik Challenger - Day 2 Review

After a pool stage which went largely to plan, the knockout phase of the 2021 FIBA 3x3 Lipik Challenger unfolded against the expectations of very many onlookers.

Edmonton came into the second and last day of competition after two very comfortable wins in the pool stage and would have been looking to ride that wave past their quarter-final opponents, Antwerp, to progress further in the tournament. The opposing team from Belgium, however, had very different ideas.

Jordan Jensen-Whyte put the first point on the board but almost immediately Antwerp took the advantage for themselves. Thibaut Vervoot followed two one-point shots from his team mates with a shot from outside the arc, putting the Belgian team 7-3 up after three minutes played.

Midway through the game three points in a row by Edmonton got them to within one of Antwerp, who very quickly went back up by three. An and-one shot from Kyle Landry once again brought the gap down to one, then Steve Sir prevented a late attempt by Antwerp to break away, himself making it a one-point game ahead of the final minute.

Their attempts to slow the opposition down, however, did not work out in their favour. Nick Celis was the only one to score in the last minute saw the score at the final buzzer stand at 18-15 to Antwerp. Edmonton may have come into this game the favorites but they had been summarily knocked out by their unassuming opponents.

It turned out the quarter finals would be full of surprises; Aomi took Liman to overtime, where a two-point shot by Tomoya Ochiai saw them go through to the semi-finals at Liman's expense; NY Harlem suffered an early exit after a four-point defeat to Bielefeld; and 3x3 titans Novi Sad would go no further after not being able to find an answer for San Juan. This string of results made for a very interesting final four.

With all the big hitters gone the title was open for anyone to take. Antwerp took the first step towards the final after defeating Aomi 20-17 and San Juan's extended journey from the qualifying stage would continue into the final, dispatching Bielefeld by four.

When the two teams met in the final they were evenly matched until Antwerp broke away midway through and though San Juan made a late push to keep their hopes alive, by the final buzzer it was the Belgian team leading by 20-18.

There were great performances from all the underdog teams all-round in this tournament, but Antwerp had the edge and drive needed to stand above all others and claim the Lipik crown.

It was a most unexpected but exciting conclusion the first challenger of 2021, with hopefully a lot more to come as the season progresses. For more on this event, follow this link to the official FIBA 3x3 website.

Picture: FIBA3x3.com