Both the women’s and men’s 3×3 national teams, currently preparing the Games of the Small Countries and FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup Qualifiers, travelled to Marburg on May 14th to participate in the 3×3 Jam part of the LOTTO Hessen Tour, a qualifying tournament for the German championship.
The women played a total of six games throughout the day. Three consistent group games allowed for a 1st place finish in Pool C and a qualification for the quarterfinal (15-8, 21-3, 16-7).
The quarterfinal game started with a quick lead from our opponents thanks to a series of outside shots from long range. Our girls had to raise their defensive level in order to reverse the score and to finally win 16-10.
In the semi-final, our team met last year’s finalists, who quickly took the lead thanks to a very high rhythm of play. Unfortunately for the German team, the injury (sprain ankle) of Marie Reichert changed the game and allowed our players to take the victory by KO: 21-16.
In the final, the intensity was too high for our team and the title holders were able to repeat last year’s victory at 3×3 Jam.
The tournament was a good first experience for Lisa and Cathy and the 2nd place finish can be considered a satisfying result for our team.
Tournament team: Cathy Schmit, Michelle Dittgen, Bridget Yoerger & Lisa Jablonowski
The first men’s game of the day allowed our players to showcase their defensive abilities, which resulted in a clear victory 21-10. After this first game, the schedule for our men had to be adjusted, due to the forfeit of the third team in their pool.
A long wait made the preparation of the 1/8 final somewhat stressful, but a hot start gave our team an advantage of four points, which they were able to manage until the end, despite the opponent’s attempts to claw their way back into the game: KO 22-15.
The quarterfinal against Hannover, counting in its ranks the German number 3 and 7, announced itself difficult. Once again we were able to take a clear five point lead in the beginning. At the end of their timeout, a new found defensive aggressiveness allowed the locals to close in by provoking numerous turnovers. The chaotic end of the game almost resulted in overtime, but at the buzzer our team ended up losing 16-14.
Our men finished the first tournament of the year in 6th place. They showed some interesting flashes , but also must still learn to manage the intensity of high level competition
Tournament team : Scott Morton, Sam Ferreira, Victor Stein, Christophe Laures
