(MIAMI, FL.) The wins where players and teams overcome hurdles and adversity are sometimes the sweetest and most satisfying. That is absolutely the feeling that 3x3 Team San Juan (Puerto Rico) has after winning their first FIBA 3x3 Masters Tournament since 2012 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Jorge Matos, Gilberto Clavell, Josue Erazo and Angel Matias had not practiced together in months. They all are currently playing in the Balencesto Superior Nacional (BSN) League and because of an agreement, the professional leagues schedule was adjusted to allow them to play in Lausanne. Scheduling has been an obstacle to consistent appearances on the FIBA 3x3 World Tour.

After placing second through the Qualifying Draw in the Lipik Challenger in May and losing the championship game 20-18 against Antwerp, San Juan qualified to play in Lausanne.
Not having practiced for months was glaring in Team San Juan’s opening game vs. UB (Serbia) as they fell 20-12 having more fouls in the contest than points.

“We knew that it was going to be tough to play this tournament without practicing, knowing the kind of teams and players were in the World Tour,” Giberto Clavell said from Lausanne a short while after winning the title. “After that first game we sat down and talked about it. We knew we were a better team than we showed. It was a wakeup call. Coming from behind that second game gave us energy and we knew that we had to perform that second day. We stayed confident and we never gave up. We stayed mentally strong and kept fighting.”

Moving out of a five-on-five mindset and settling into a 3x3 frame of mind, Team San Juan picked up momentum getting past the world’s number one ranked 3x3 team and 2020 Olympic gold medalists Riga (Latvia). Team San Juan won 21-20 behind 9 points each from Clavell and Matias which accounted for every made field goal except for a two-pointer from Matos. Things were coming together in a big way at the perfect time.

San Juan moved on the Semi-Finals as they defeated World Tour second ranked Liman (Serbia) 20-18. Clavell led the way again with 9 points, paving the way to the title game vs. UB.

Clavell once again put on a show and scored 12 points going 9-10 from the field as San Juan nailed a 20-13 Final victory.

“Chemistry is big. We don’t play a lot of 3x3 just because some of us play overseas and the full team can’t be together. But right now, we are in the middle of the season in Puerto Rico. Our mentality had to switch. It took us two games to get it right. We've been playing for so long now that we know what each of us must do. The most important thing here is that we know our roles and that helps a lot during these games. It’s tough but it something that we have to deal with.”

With the win in Lausanne, Team San Juan moved into the fifth ranked position in the World Tour team rankings and qualified for the World Tour Grand Final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 17-18 of December 2021.

FIBA