MADRID (FIBA 3x3 World Tour) – The big "welcome to Miami" cheer came from…team Split, and it was a cheer from the heart.

Of course, if you have your short guy grabbing rebounds under the basket and your big men shooting from beyond the arc, you can say you've got it all! Split delivered a near perfect game with excellent shooting, simple but elegant give and go plays that displayed their humble, down to earth team-player philosophy.

And that pays, in fact, it pays 12'000 US Dollars! But going home to Ljubljana with 5'000 US Dollars in your pocket, knowing that in a couple of weeks you will be under the Florida sun, is not so shabby either.

So needless to say that Ljubljana put up a fair if somewhat unfortunate fight, with some of their shots simply not falling in as they were hoping them to. When you play hard and hustle, it comes down to mistakes and a little bit of luck.

It just so happens to be that Split was on the better end - this time.

To be continued, in Miami.

FIBA