Stage set for the quarter finals of FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup

DEBRECEN (Hungary) - The bracket is full and 16 teams, eight men and eight women, are ready to battle for the ultimate prize, the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup title. Day 4 in Debrecen brought up more action and more drama than a Hollywood blockbuster.

Game of the Day: France vs. Ukraine (boys)

With 2 minutes and 20 seconds to go, France was dominating, Ukraine was down by seven, 17-10, while in the bleachers, the Slovenian players were already thinking about their game in the quarter finals. One minute later, France still needed one more point to seal the game, 20-16. What can happen in 30 seconds in 3x3 basketball? Pretty much everything.

France lost two possessions in a row, Bohdar Bur scored three quick points and Ukraine came within one, 20-19. The French had one more chance to finish it, but a crucial steal brought Yehor Sushkin in front of probably the shot of his career, with 39 seconds still left on the game clock. And he cold-blooded made that one, from beyond the arc, sending the blue and yellow delegation into frenzy and the Slovenian one into desperation, as Ukraine joined France into the Last 8.

The teams

Boys

The lost game against Ukraine didn’t cost France too much, as they still advanced from the first place of Pool D, finishing with 62 points scored, one more than Ukraine.

In Pool B Latvia, led by Aleks Simsons with 8 points, had a convincing win against Croatia in the decisive game for the first place.

Latvia will play Ukraine in the quarter finals, while France will meet Croatia, in a rematch of the last year’s FIBA 3x3 U17 Europe Cup Final. In the other two games, USA will face Hungary, while Germany will clash with Spain.

Girls

Spain booked their tickets for the quarter finals with two wins in Day 4, none more important than the one versus their top European rivals France. It was a win or go home situation, after both teams conceded their games against Germany in Day 2.

Jana Nogues Martin was one more time dominant in the paint and finished with nine points for Spain. Lana Petiteau had a solid effort with six points, and France came within one point in the final seconds of the game, 19-18, behind big buckets by Celaine Ricco and Charlie Girod. But Naia Rojo had the last basket of the game with 12 seconds to go and Spain hanged on until the end.

USA lost Arianna Roberson in their first game of the day with a knee injury, but they cruised to the quarter finals scoring 42 points in two games and conceding only 10. They were joined by Poland, who won against Latvia for their third win of the pool.

Germany-Poland, USA-Spain, Ukraine-China and Japan-Mexico are the quarter finals in the girls competition.

The players

With nine points in average per game and 27 in total, Zakaria Merchegui (France) and Raul Dumnici (Germany) are entering in the MVP race. The Ukrainian hero Yehor Sushkin is not far behind with 8.3 points per game, while he is a free throw machine, 14 of his 26 points coming from the charity stripe.

Emma Rogers from New Zealand is leading all girls scorers, with 31 points, but she’ll not have the chance to add more, as the Tall Blacks were already eliminated. Sarah Strong is continuing her dominance, and she was impressive against Poland with 10 points, while Magdalena Kloska from Poland stays in the MVP race with 26 points so far.

Final Day

Friday will be the decisive day in Debrecen for the youth. Action will resume at 14.40 local time (CET) and just before bedtime we’ll find out who will be crowned FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup champions for the last time. Stay tuned.