The Rebel Sport 3X3 Quest Tour got back underway this past weekend, with ‘Bridge’ taking out the Open Men’s grade at the Harbourside Netball Centre in Mount Maunganui.
The champions qualified for the showdown riding a six-game winning streak and beat ‘99ers’ 22-10 to cap off a great display of basketball in the Tauranga sun.
‘Bridge’ captain Phil Borota said the team came together as the day went on and they hit their straps at the business end.
“We started shaky by dropping our first game, but after that, we picked it up. For most of us it was our first time playing together so as the day went by, we started to get into a rhythm.
“Ball movement was the key to our success in the finals. We kept passing it on to the open guy and were confident when any of us had a decent look.”
Borota also mentioned how he prefers basketball’s shortened format and encouraged fellow hoopers to get along to the upcoming legs.
“The lack of coaching means you can do everything you want to do as a player and as a team. It’s nice being able to go out there and not feel controlled.
“There were a few people here today [Saturday], but it’d cool to see more at these types of things. They should just give it a go, regardless of the scores there will be, it’s a good time and you’re out in the sun all day – what more could you ask for!”
Three other grades made up the second stop on the Tour, those competitions being the Youthtown Senior Mixed, Junior Girls and Junior Boys.
‘Kati Strong’ avenged a loss earlier in the day to ‘Raukura Gladiators’ in their final to walk away victors (21-13) in the Senior Mixed.
‘Marshmallow Rats’ finished with a flawless 5-0 record after edging out ‘MAH’ in the Junior Girls’ big dance, while ‘Da Braddas’ went one better with six wins and zero losses after pipping ‘Ballers’ 22-15 in the Junior Boys’ last game.
A few mini games also took place during the day, where Xande Marsters from ‘Da Braddas’ finished first in the Rebel Sport Shoot-out and Youthtown Knockout, and Kendyl Nelson-Graham from ‘Kati Strong’ came out on top for the Rebel Sport Dunk contest.
The Tour heads back up to State Highway 1 for its next stop, with Westlake Girl’s Highschool hosting the north Auckland leg. Entries to this event are open to all ages! For those interested in shooting some hoops, create a player profile, reply to the confirmation email and you’re then eligible to register a team.
Results of Tauranga leg of the Rebel Sport 3×3 Quest Tour (week two):
Open Men’s Winners – Bridge
- Corey Annandale
- Karl Morgan
- Rory Fannon
- Phil Borota
Open Men’s Runner-up – 99ers
- Adam Carter
- Aidan Phizackerly
- Akira Marsters
- Parakaia Davies
Youthtown Senior Mixed – Kati Strong
- Geordie Hoeata
- Jerami MacDonald
- Kendyl Nelson-Graham
- Sam Crosby
Youthtown Junior Girls – Marshmallow Rats
- Elise Gilbert
- Hana Lacey-Rameka
- Lani Albert
- Tannika Leger-Walker
Youthtown Junior Boys – Da Braddas
- Charles Anderson
- Toka Tawhara
- Xanda Marsters
3×3 Quest Tour Schedule, 2021
- Auckland West, The Trusts Arena, Saturday 12th December
- Tauranga, Harbourside Netball Centre, Blake Park Mt Maunganui, Saturday 16th January
- Auckland North, Westlake Girls High School, Saturday 23rd January
- Wellington, Odlins Plaza, Saturday 13th February
- Christchurch, Hagley Park, Saturday 20th February
- Dunedin, Octagon, Saturday 27th February
- Auckland South, MONC Netball courts, Saturday 6th March
- New Plymouth, Waiwhakaiho Netball Courts, Saturday 13th March
- Final, TBC
* This final event is the World Tour Qualifier Final and is only open to the Open Men’s Grade teams that qualified at one of the above regional events. No other grades will play at this event.
More info:
- More details on the tour here
- Sign up for the tour via play.fiba3x3.com
- Follow the event on Basketball New Zealand’s Social media accounts on @BasketballNZ via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
