DEQING (China) - Princeton (USA) made a late season statement after emerging triumphant at the FIBA 3x3 Deqing Challenger on November 3. Here's what happened in the 22nd and last Challenger of the season. The winner: Princeton (USA)
It's been a long time coming for Princeton, who won a title at their first go this season but haven't had further success since. Three times they finished runner-up, including last start in Taipei, but this time the Americans were not to be denied as they produced an unbeaten campaign.
After sweeping through pool play, Princeton had all they could handle against Utsunomiya BREX EXE (JPN) before Jerome Desrosiers hit the buzzer beater and then he went on a rampage with 12 points in the semis against Kandava Turiba (LAT).
Having fallen short numerous times, Princeton broke their jinx to prevail in a thriller against Amsterdam (NED) in the final. MVP Jerome Desrosiers and Justin Pierce proved a deadly one-two punch, while star Henry Caruso found his best form in the final to out duel Paris Olympics MVP Worthy de Jong.
The runner-up: Amsterdam (NED)
The Dutch Masters couldn't quite clinch another title, but again showcased their credentials. De Jong played like the best player on the planet after a scoring binge of 13 points against Mandaluyong (PHI) on Day One.
The No.1 seed were pushed to the limit by ever improving Wuxi WenLv (CHN) but de Jong again put the cape on to finish just short of a triple-five. In a semi-final where the D was notched up to a high intensity, de Jong again showcased his outrageous skill to lead Amsterdam to an easy dub over Ermont SENEF (FRA).
He had a shoot-out with Caruso in the final to cap an insane tournament, where de Jong finished No.1 in player-value (57.3) and points (46).
The Final: Princeton 21-Amsterdam 18
Amsterdam entered as favorite, but faced a pumped-up Princeton hoping to end a six-month title drought. It quickly became evident that this would be a one-on-one battle between the best players on the half-court - Worthy de Jong and Henry Caruso.
De Jong started with an open layup, but was matched by Caruso who made a pretty lay-up over the outstreched arms of his rival. Caruso used his size and strength to devastating effect by playing bully ball.
He then showed off his outside game with a two-piece as Princeton held a handy edge. Princeton were on a roll and appeared set to cruise to the title when Jerome Desrosiers' two-handed flush gave them a 20-14 lead.
But de Jong is a 3x3 miracle worker and he went bang, bang to make Princeton nervous until Desrosiers iced the game from the free-throw line as the Americans finally celebrated a title triumph.
The reward: Three tickets to the Shenzhen Masters With Princeton already qualified, Amsterdam, Kandava Turiba and Ermont SENEF qualified to the Shenzhen Masters on November 16-17. Final Standings: 1. Princeton (USA) 2. Amsterdam (NED) 3. Kandava Turiba (LAT) 4. Ermont SENEF (FRA) 5. St Pauli (GER) Top Scorers: 1. Worthy de Jong (Amsterdam, NED) 46 pts 2. Jerome Desrosiers (Princeton, USA) 38 pts 3. Justin Pierce (Princeton, USA) 33 pts 4 Herve Jean-Pierre (Ermont SENEF, FRA) 27 pts 5. Edgars Krumins (Kandava Turiba, LAT) 26 pts Key Stats: - St Pauli (GER) excitement machine Denzel Agyeman had a monster 12 points and 5 highlights in a quarter-final loss to Ermont SENEF. - Herve Jean-Pierre had crazy back-to-back triple-fives against Hong Kong (HGK) and St Pauli. - Teodor Atanasov had 8 points and 10 rebounds in Utsunomiya BREX EXE's pool win over Al Rayyan (QAT). FIBA