Amsterdam and Liman shine on Day 1 of 3x3 World Tour Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM (The Netherlands) - Amsterdam and Liman showed hunger and grit, dominating their opponents and finishing with a perfect record and maximum points scored after Day 1 of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Amsterdam in the breathtaking Gasshouder venue.  

Raudondvaris was the third team that went undefeated.

With three Olympic champions in the roster, Amsterdam offered plenty to cheer for the sold-out frenetic crowd. Arvin Slagter was the go-to when his team needed the most, scoring 11 points in the win against Ulaanbaatar which secured them the top position in Pool B.   

 

Liman was the pure definition of a team game, with a balanced offensive effort that brought them two wins in Pool C, both before regulation. Stefan Kojic started the fire with a double-digit game, 10 points against Paris in the opener, and the Serbian team never looked back.

The game

In front of a frenetic crowd, Utrecht delivered in their first game against the number one team in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour standings and 2-time World Tour winners, Ub from Serbia. The local favorites led for 9 minutes and 35 seconds, only to see themselves on the brink of a tough loss, after Dejan Majstorovic hit one of his trademark 2-pointers, under pressure, for 18-16.

But the Olympic gold medalist Dimeo van der Horst had the answer prepared and sent the game to overtime with a dagger of his own, 18-18 after regulation. In a physical clash, Utrecht prevailed after Horst and Norbert Thelissen both scored hard-fought baskets to win the game 20-18.

 

The player

Dennis Donkor had a game for the ages against Ljubljana, collecting 16 points with 8-11 from the field. He had nine consecutive points in the first half of the game to keep his Team Riffa into a head-to-head battle with the Slovenians, in Pool D. He continued his offensive flurry in the last minutes, icing the game with two consecutive 2-pointers.

Donkor ended the day as the best scorer, with 20 points, but Riffa came up short in their second game against Raudondvaris (20-19) 

 

Day 2 Quarter final matchups

Ub recovered after the opening game loss against Utrecht and after a solid performance against Hangzhou, 21-16, they managed to qualify to the Quarter Finals from the top of Pool A. They’ll face Chongming, a team they recently beat in Shanghai in the pool stage.

Amsterdam will meet with their long-time rivals, now representing Riffa. Utrecht has a chance to get some revenge against Liman, after the QF loss in Debrecen while Raudondvaris Hoptrans are looking to extend their domination against Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy. 

 

The Venue

After hosting the 100^th FIBA 3x3 World Tour Master last year, the iconic Gashouder venue was again dressed to impress sending 3x3 basketball into the future. The sell-out crowd heavily contributed to the overall success of the day and had plenty to cheer for. Side events like a Women’s Series qualifier and the finals of the Amsterdam Breaking Championship completed the puzzle of an energetic urban picture.