USA and China win FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019

NETHERLANDS (FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019) – The USA won their first men’s title, while China also created history with a triumph in the women’s category to cap a thrilling FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Amsterdam from June 18-23, 2019.

The USA started the tournament by ending defending champion Serbia’s 15-game winning streak and ran through the competition during a flawless campaign with a 7-0 record.

Sharpshooter Damon Huffman was sizzling from deep with a game-high 8 points to lead the US to an 18-14 victory over Latvia in the final. Kareem Maddox dominated inside with 5 points and 7 rebounds to help end Europe’s dominance at the World Cup.

Latvia were led by ‘Batman and Robin’ duo Karlis Lasmanis and Nauris Miezis, who combined for 12 points.

In the men's bronze medal match, Poland upset reigning champions Serbia 18-15 thanks largely to a dominant performance from Michael Hicks, who finished with a jaw-dropping 13 points and 8 rebounds.

It means Poland joined USA and Latvia into the Olympic qualifying tournament next March.

Hicks topped all scorers in the competition with 71 points, while USA’s Robbie Hummel was named MVP of the men's category. He was also joined by Hicks and Lasmanis on the Team of the Tournament.

In the women’s category, world No.1 China wrapped up a perfect 7-0 campaign with a 19-13 victory over Hungary. They dominated from the start by scoring the first seven points and ZhiTing Zhang controlled the paint throughout to finish with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Dóra Medgyessy and Cyesha Goree tried hard for Hungary with 5 points apiece.

In the women's bronze medal clash, France beat Australia for the second time in the tournament with an easy 21-9 victory. Migna Touré top-scored with 7 points, while Ana Maria Filip had 6 points and 7 rebounds.

On Olympic Day coincidentally, China, Hungary and France made it through to the Olympic qualifying tournament. JiaYin Jiang was named women’s MVP and joined by Migna Touré and Cyesha Goree in the Team of the Tournament. Bec Cole from Australia was the leading scorer with 46 points.

The event was held on Museumplein in the heart of the Dutch capital, with the iconic Rijskmuseum for urban backdrop. The FIBA 3x3 World Cup venue was the biggest-ever FIBA 3x3 temporary venue. It attracted a sell-out crowd of 2,561 fans on the last day of competition, including FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis. The World Cup was the main event of the Urban Sports Week, which transformed the entire square into an urban cultural festival.

 

Vadim ‘Miller’ Poddubchenko took out the Jack's Casino dunk contest – his first win at a World Cup. After an epic final, he was deadlocked with Piotr Grabowski from Poland on 87 points forcing the duo to compete for the title in a dunk off. The Ukrainian pulled off an incredible one-handed 360 off the bounce to claim victory. Kristaps Dargais (Latvia) struck bronze.

Marie-Eve Paget of France won the skills contest to go one better than her silver at last year’s World Cup. Rae Lin D'Alie from Italy took home silver and Abdolvand Shadi claimed bronze - the first-ever medal for Iran in a FIBA 3x3 World Cup.

Latvia’s Edgar Krumins prevailed in the T-Mobile & Sony shoot-out contest, Stanislav Timofeyenko claimed silver and Marcella Fillipi from Italy won bronze.

Final standings of the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019

Men
1. USA
2. Latvia
3. Poland
4. Serbia
5. Puerto Rico
6. France
7. Slovenia
8. Ukraine
9. Lithuania
10. Australia
11. Netherlands
12. Qatar
13. Mongolia
14. Japan
15. Estonia
16. Russia
17. South Korea
18. Brazil
19. China
20. Turkey

Women
1. China
2. Hungary
3. France
4. Australia
5. Spain
6. Russia
7. Romania
8. Italy
9. Czech Republic
10. New Zealand
11. Switzerland
12. Netherlands
13. Japan
14. Ukraine
15. Latvia
16. Iran
17. Mongolia
18. Andorra
19. Turkmenistan
20. Indonesia

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About FIBA 3x3

Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.

It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour and national-team FIBA 3x3 World & Continental Cups.

On 9 June 2017, 3x3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Nike is the Founding Partner, Wilson the Global Sponsor and Tissot the Official Timekeeper of FIBA 3x3.

FIBA 3x3 events are played on Enlio floors with Wilson balls, Schelde backstops, and the Magic Sky canopy system.

For further information about 3x3, visit fiba3x3.basketball, FIBA 3x3 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Twitter, Youku and YouTube or contact 3x3@fiba.com.