3x3 - Five boys teams off to perfect start, Swiss and Belizeans turn heads

ALCOBENDAS - The rain prevented the action from taking place on the outdoor courts at the José Caballero Sports Centre on Day 1 of the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships, presented by Nike.

However, the quality and excitement of the games played inside the Amaya Valdemoro Pavilion weren't at all affected by the weather.

The Boys' Tournament saw a good number of games go down to the wire and there were some impressive buzzer-beaters to be had.

Early in the day, hosts Spain edged out Brazil 13-12 on Dario Brizuela's stepback jumper.

Romania needed overtime and an incredible shot by Vlad Stoicoviciu to get past Latvia 17-16.

The Romanians weren't the only team that had to play an extra session for a win.

The USA did so in beating hosts Spain and did so in style, taking a 13-12 win on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's thundering dunk, while Mikhail Kulagin burried a clutch three-pointer to edge Russia past Australia 17-16.

By the end of the day, Canada, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia were the five only unbeaten teams (4-0) and there were some surprise performances by several small basketball nations.

Switzerland won their first three games - against Estonia, Venezuela and Jordan - before falling to the mighty Russians, the only team with a better record than them in Group C.

Belize turned quite a few heads as they beat Poland and China and came close to handing the Canadians their first loss in Group A.

"It's very fun and competitive. We're one of the smallest teams in this tournament and we have to compete very hard to win," said Brian White.

"It's the first time a Central American team is in this tournament. It's great to know that we came from Belize, a small country and beat teams like Poland and China.

"We've played for years together so we know one another."

The action resumes on Saturday, when the 32 teams will play the last of their group games. The teams that finish first in the four groups qualify for Sunday's Quarter-Finals while those who finish second and third advance to the Eight-Finals.

FIBA