The latest round of 3×3.EXE action saw Swish.EXE claim another four competition points to remain leaders in the North, while Lincoln.EXE’s wins over the University of Canterbury.EXE in their semi-final and the Gators.EXE in the final drew them level atop the ladder with the aforementioned front-runners.
3×3.EXE Round Six Wrap-Up
North Island Conference
A dominant Swish.EXE put on a 3×3 clinic and strengthened their chances of a trip to Japan next month by taking home round six of the North Island conference in Auckland on Saturday night.
Swish extended their lead at the top of the table with a 21-8 win over Scam.EXE.
Superior outside shooting set-up both the final victory and similarly comfortable 21-9 semi-final win over Waikato Snipers.EXE.
After missing out on the playoffs in the previous round, Swish bounced back to win their third round of the competition.
Swish player Tom Allan said he felt his team was fortunate to make it out of pool play.
“We got lucky to get through but it was great that we saved our best basketball for the semi and final.”
Their three-point lead on the ladder has them placed to only require semi-final appearances in the last two rounds to book their place at the 3×3.EXE premier finals in Japan.
Allan said they did not want to take anything for granted and keep their momentum going.
Scam.EXE eased their way through pool play and beat Coasties.EXE 21-15 in the semifinal, to keep their title hopes alive.
Scam’s Michael Woodbridge said he felt his team made the most of being in the easier pool but ran out of steam in the final.
He admitted Swish would be hard to catch on the competition ladder, but if his team could continue to make finals they would be able to push for that second spot.
Results:
Scam.EXE 18, ValleySeezn.EXE 15; Scam.EXE 21, Waikato Snipers.EXE 10; Swish.EXE 19, University of Auckland.EXE 17; Swish.EXE 16, Coasties.EXE 11; Waikato Smipers.EXE 18, ValleySeezn.EXE 14; Coasties.EXE 17, University of Auckland.EXE 16.
Semifinal 1: Scam.EXE 21, Coasties.EXE 15.
Semifinal 2: Swish.EXE 21, Waikato Snipers.EXE 9.
Final: Swish.EXE 21, Scam.EXE 8.
Points: Swish 17, Waikato Snipers 14, Scam 12, University of Auckland 11, Coasties 10, ValleySeezn 2.
South Island Conference
Lincoln University’s Josiah Williams redeemed a costly error in pool play to elevate his team to round six victors of the 3×3.EXE South Island premier competition at Christchurch’s Ara Institute on Sunday.
Williams missed a layup in their 16-15 loss to Gators.EXE in pool play but made up for this with a left-handed finish off the glass in their semi-final to earn his team a 21-20 win over competition leaders the University of Canterbury.EXE.
They then utilised Ben Hall’s size to reverse their earlier loss to the Gators and claim a 21-16 win in the final and pull themselves back into first-equal on the table.
Gators’ sharp-shooter Matt Mischewski impressed, while Canterbury had the best of both worlds with Brent Fisher inside and Paul Stevenson on the perimeter.
Williams said with many of the teams going with small line-ups, they saw an opportunity.
Mischewski said they would have preferred UC to beat Lincoln to help their chances of getting a top-two finish and a trip to Japan, but was happy to have made the final after his team eased past Checkers.EXE 22-13 in the final four.
Results:
University of Canterbury.EXE 13, Checkers.EXE 11; Gators.EXE 16, Lincoln University.EXE 15; Checkers.EXE 18, Wolverines.EXE 13; Lincoln University.EXE 21, Atami.EXE 16; University of Canterbury.EXE 21, Wolverines.EXE 10; Gators.EXE 18, Atami.EXE 16.
Semifinal 1: Lincoln University.EXE 21, University of Canterbury.EXE
Semifinal 2: Gators.EXE 22, Checkers.EXE 13.
Final: Lincoln University.EXE 21, Gators.EXE 16.
Points: Lincoln University 17, University of Canterbury 17, Gators 13, Checkers 8, Atami 7, Wolverines 4.
More information:
The winners of each of the South Island and North Island conferences after all eight rounds will qualify for the 3X3.EXE Premier finals in Japan. The teams that come second in each of the NZ conferences will go to a qualifying tournament, and the winning team will be given automatic entry in the main tournament. With all expenses paid, those four teams will compete for a share of USD$20,000 in prize-money in Tokyo in September. The winner of the big Tokyo based event will also qualify for a FIBA World Tour Masters Event.
NZ 3X3.EXE ROUNDS:
• Round 7, 17-18 August
• Round 8, 24-25 August
• 3×3.EXE Playoffs in Tokyo, 7-8 September
