After nine stops around New Zealand, the 2020-21 Rebel Sport Quest Tour has concluded with Calendar Boys 2.0 taking the honours in a thrilling Grand Final at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland.
With four Sal’s NBL players at their disposal, Calendar Boys 2.0 managed to hold off Gimmie 5 in the Grand Final 21-14. They also claimed an impressive win in the semi-final over Swish, who had some firepower of their own in 3×3 stalwart Karl Noyer and former Tall Black Kirk Penney.
Captain Chris McIntosh was elated with the victory and pinpointed rebounding as a key to his teams’ triumph.
“Our main focus was rebounding as that’s been a terrible weakness for us and limiting the amount of 2-pointers for the other teams,” said McIntosh.
“The boys were getting tired down the stretch, but we managed to push through and get it done.”
McIntosh expressed his excitement regarding the growth of 3×3 basketball in New Zealand and is looking forward to participating in the upcoming 3×3.exe event which tips off on May 22.
“We’ve definitely seen 3×3 basketball take off in the past few years and it’s great to see more and more events around the country,” said McIntosh.
“The 3×3.exe event coming up is brand new and events like the Schick Cup last year, it’s awesome to see it growing in that way. 3×3 basketball is great for jump shooters like me, so I’ll definitely continue to get involved.”
Basketball New Zealand 3X3 Manager David Huxford says the final concluded a summer of well supported 3X3 events.
“This was the eighth year of the tour and to finish off in style is fantastic. A big thanks goes out to our naming rights sponsor Rebel Sport who has been so supportive; as well as Sky Sport, YouthTownNZ, Mai FM, Sal’s Pizza and Molten. These events are fuelled by the likes of them and we are truly grateful for their support in this free community event that traverses the country every summer,” says Huxford.
More info on the Rebel Sport 3X3 Quest Tour:
- Quest tour webpage.
- For the teams, players and full results go to the event page on play.fiba3x3.com
- and Basketball New Zealand’s social media channels: @BasketballNZ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Hashtag: #NZ3X3Tour. Website: nz.basketball
- Get familiar with 3X3 the rules here.
