Riga Ghetto win FIBA 3x3 World Tour Prague Masters 2019

PRAGUE (Czech Republic) - Riga Ghetto (LAT) won their second Masters of the season after defeating Princeton (USA) in the final of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Prague Masters on August 3-4, 2019.

Four months after winning their first-ever Masters in Doha, Riga Ghetto went back to their winning ways in Prague. They bounced back from an early loss against Princeton in the pool stage, which they avenged when they met the Americans again in the final (21-12). The Latvians knocked out the last 2 World Tour winners on Wenceslas Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site. After beating the the number 1 team in the World Novi Sad (19-18) in the quarter-finals, they went on to defeated Zemun (21-16) in the semis.

The 25-year-old Karlis Lasmanis caught fire in Prague. He topped the scoring list - tied with Princeton's Robbie Hummel - with 36 points. He was named MVP after contributing a game-high 8 points in the final.

Princeton reached the final of a World Tour Masters for the first time in their 3x3 career. The World Cup MVP Hummel was dominant for the U.S team but it was sharpshooter Craig Moore who saved the day in the quarter-finals with a Tissot Buzzer-Beater in overtime against local favorites Humpolec Bernard (CZE).

In the final, Princeton just could not keep up with Riga Ghetto.  The game was over with nearly 2 minutes and 30 seconds left on the game clock. It ranked second in the list of Tissot Fastest Games of the event. Every player on Riga Ghetto scored from behind the arc. They shot  a combined 7 for 15 from long range in the final.

With this win - combined with Novi Sad's 6th-place finish - Riga Ghetto took the lead in the World Tour season standings. 

In the individual contests, NY Harlem's Dominique Jones aka 'Disco Domo' dominated the Hyundai Shoot-Out Contest and Piotr Grabowski (Poland) successfully defended his Home Credit Dunk Contest title.  

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Riga Ghetto (LAT)
2. Princeton (USA)
3. Zemun (SRB)
4. Piran (SLO)
5. Liman (SRB)
6. Novi Sad (SRB)
7. NY Harlem (USA)
8. Humpolec Bernard (CZE)
9. Belgrade (SRB)
10. The Hague (NED)
11. Vitez EcosRomari (BIH)
12. Ventspils Ghetto (LAT)
13. Antwerp (BEL)
14. Szczecin Budza Team (POL)

The 6th Masters of the season will be played in Lausanne, Switzerland on August 23-24, 2019.

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Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.

It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour and national-team FIBA 3x3 World & Continental Cups.

On 9 June 2017, 3x3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Nike is the Founding Partner, Wilson the Global Sponsor and Tissot the Official Timekeeper of FIBA 3x3.

FIBA 3x3 events are played on Enlio floors with Wilson balls, Schelde backstops, and the Magic Sky canopy system.

For further information about 3x3, visit fiba3x3.basketball, FIBA 3x3 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Twitter, Youku and YouTube or contact 3x3@fiba.com.