Team ‘Small Ball’ is the fourth team to book their place in the Open Men’s Finals next month after taking home Wellington’s 3×3 Quest Tour title.
They finished pool play a perfect four from four and then ground out three tight elimination games on their way to the crown at Odlins Plaza.
Team captain Cameron Couper said it was great to get the win in his hometown.
“It was a tough tournament, especially in the knockout stages where we only won our games by one or two points.
“A lot of the players here, including us, all play in the local leagues and know each other so it was sort of chance for bragging rights and so it felt pretty good to take it out.”
The country’s capital lived up to its nickname, providing persistent gusts to interfere with those looking to score from beyond the arc.
Among the few to knock down the long ball with consistency was Small Ball team member Zyrus Grace, who according to Couper “lit it up when we needed him”.
“The weather was a headache for all the teams, although our boy Zyrus was able to find his stroke, especially in the finals.
“He pretty much carried us at certain stages and more than anything I’m glad he was on my team.”
Twenty-seven teams took part in the event on Wellington’s waterfront, with 17 of those squads playing in the Open Men’s grade. The other ten teams competed across the two Youthtown grades: Senior Boys and Junior Mixed.
Winners of the Youthtown Senior Boys’ grade were ‘Toa’, who beat ‘TTM’ 20-14 in their semi-final before going on to beat ‘Maccabi’ 21-16 in the gold medal game.
The champions of the Youthtown Junior Mixed competition were ‘JBT’, who similarly to Small Ball, won both their semi and final by one point.
Up next on the 3×3 Quest Tour is the leg in Dunedin, which is being held at the Octagon this Sunday (1 Mar).
Results of Wellington leg of 3×3 Quest Tour (week four):
Open Men’s Winners – Small Ball
- Cameron Couper
- David Chin
- Michael Stewart
- Zyrus Grace
Open Men’s Runner-up – BC Astana
- Chris McIntosh
- Adam Dunstan
- James Cawthorn
- Nikolay Mikhalchuk
Youthtown Senior Boys – Toa
- Kawharu Hippolite
- Nathaniel Salmon
- Randal Paenga
Youthtown Junior Mixed – JBT
- Thomas Devery
- Ted Woolley
- Jordon South
3×3 Quest Tour Schedule, 2020:
- Sat 18 Jan Auckland (West) – The Trusts Arena, Henderson, Auckland
- Sat 1 Feb Auckland (North) – Eventfinda Stadium, Wairau Valley, Auckland
- Sat 15 Feb Tauranga – Harbourside Netball Centre, Blake Park, Mt Maunganui
- Sat 22 Feb Wellington – Odlins Plaza, Wellington Waterfront
- Sun 1 Mar Dunedin – The Octagon, Dunedin
- Sat 7 Mar Christchurch – Hagley Park Netball Courts, Christchurch
- Sat 28 Mar Final (Christchurch)* – Ara Recreational Centre, Christchurch
* 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.
