The second round of Basketball New Zealand’s (BBNZ) NZ Pro 3×3 Quest has been completed in Christchurch, with the South Island getting a taste of the invite-only competition which is designed to earn more FIBA ranking points.
This weekend, the NZ Pro 3×3 Quest heads to Auckland for the second time; this will be the last round before the Christmas holiday break.
NZ Pro Quest Round 2 Summary – Christchurch
The first Christchurch round of the NZ Pro 3×3 Quest saw 76 games played at Cowles Stadium, which is home to the Canterbury Rams and the Mainland Pouākai. Over the two days, 24 teams – 12 men’s and 12 women’s – competed across four courts.
- On Day One, it was Manuka – which included Maia Jones, Esra McGoldrick, Tessa Morrison and Tsubasa Nisbet – who were the Women’s winners, beating Magic 17-15 in the final.
- For the Men’s section, Rimu – with a squad made up of Kaia Isaac, Ben Carlile-Smith, Ben Hall and Tai Wynyard – managed to get the upper hand on Magic to claim the stop 21-19.
- Day Two saw Manuka once again take the winning spot with the exact same lineup as the previous day. They made the win against Magic far more convincing, coming out on top 21-8.
- Rimu also continued their winning ways, beating Puawai Pango 19-17 to secure their second straight stop victory. Rimu’s lineup remained also unchanged for the second day.
- The MVPs over both days, as selected by 3×3 National Team Head Coaches Piet Van Hasselt and Justine Reed, were Kaia Isaac (Men’s) and Esra McGoldrick (Women’s) who demonstrated exceptional skill throughout both days.
3×3 Tall Blacks coach Piet van Hasselt felt that Canterbury got behind the NZ Pro 3×3 Quest in a positive way.
“Like with Auckland, it was exciting to welcome new players, referees, coaches and volunteers of Christchurch to the 3×3 whānau. The community came together to produce some competitive games in these selection events for Open, U23 and U17 2023 national teams,” said van Hasselt.
NZ Pro Quest Round 3 Preview – Auckland
The last round for 2022 will take place in Pulman Arena, which has previously played host to the U15 Nationals, and will be host of the Secondary Schools 3×3 competition in 2023.
Van Hasselt explained that there will be opportunities to improve the game as the tour plays more around the country.
“Each round so far has shown that New Zealand has talent in 3×3. Moving forward, we are looking to see more specific 3×3 skills, tactics and IQ’s develop as players get more accustomed to the game.”
“There’s no substitute for playing 3×3 consistently and this is what the tour is all about. Playing 3×3 over the summer will help our National Team players prepare, while being fit and ready for the Asia Cup at the end of March in Singapore.”
“Auckland is the last stop before the holiday break and we are expecting more white-hot 3×3 action.”
Players will be assigned different teams for the upcoming Auckland leg which will kick off from 10:30am on Saturday 10th December and will finish up the next day, Sunday 11th December.
For details on future NZ Pro 3×3 Quest events, visit the Basketball NZ Events page at https://nz.basketball/whats-on/
Full NZ Pro 3×3 Quest schedule:
Dec 3-4 | Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Dec 10-11 | Pulman Arena, Auckland
Jan 28-29 | Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Feb 4-5 | Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland
Feb 11-12 | Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Feb 18-19 | Pulman Arena, Auckland
Feb 25-26 | Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Mar 11 | Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland
