FIBA 3-on-3 @ Youth Olympic Games - Final Day (Boys' Finals)

SINGAPORE (Youth Olympic Games) -  Hello world! The first champions are crowned!

The first ever 3-on-3 tournament in the history of FIBA and the Youth Olympic Games are officially over! After a very hot day and a massive shower at the end of the final game, I must say that I am going to miss Singapore but I'm not going to miss the humidity, but the hospitality! It were very competitive games that we were able to see, while fair-play played a big role in this tournament, as all teams behaved just the way people should always treat each other, with dignity and respect!

I'm more than happy that I was chosen to be part of the first ever 3-on-3 tournament within the Olympic program and I hope that it is not the last time I was able to sit next to people like Jacques Rogge or Vlade Divac!

Now enough of that, let's get back to the main topic:

After falling to Serbia yesterday, most people thought, that the U.S. would take their anger out on the Greek. Wrong!

3rd Place Final

USA - Greece 25-34

Today, I heard no complaints from the Greek coach, which has something to do with the way his players presented themselves on the court. They fought for every rebound (They outrebounded the much taller U.S. players) and on every possession, so the deserved to win the bronze medal in Singapore. Theodoros Tsiloulis had some good moments in the beginning of the game and kept the Greek on track, while Sterling Gibbs countered for the Americans from nearly everywhere off the court and went always after the rebound if he missed a shot.

After the halftime (18-19), Vlachos and mainly Panagiotaras brought the few Greeks in the stands on their feet as they clicked in their lay-ups to extend the lead to seven points (18-25) with four minutes remaining. Tsiloulis copied the strategy of his teammates to net in another four points through lay-ups and the Greeks pulled away (20-29) in this encounter. Brandan Kearney raised some small hope with a made three-point shot, but when Tselentakis pump-faked Chol to dish in another, the game looked almost over. Kearney did not have enough and strolled towards the board (25-31) but Vlachos decided he had seen it all and chipped in a long-distance shot to call it a day.

The full box score can be found here


1st Place Final

Serbia - Croatia 22-9

A few (including our photographer Marko) were betting their money on Serbia from day one. And the Serbs did not disappoint. But the start into the final game of the 3-on-3 tournament was shaky at least. Both teams couldn't convert in the first minute. It was Marko Radonjic who drove to the hoop to break the spell. Marko Ramljak and Matej Buovac took both a day off. None of them felt ready to deliver and the Serbs pulled away to lead with 13-3 at the break. Stipe Krstanovic stepped up and finally scored his first points in the second half and Buovac made one of two at the line to bring Croatia within seven points (13-6). Bezbradica, who had a spectacular dunk earlier in the All-Balkan, was not much of a factor while Avramovic and Radonjic sailed the Serbs into the port of glory by further extending the lead (20-8) an forcing the Croats to take difficult shots (12% FG). The final swiftly ended and the celebrations started quickly on the court as well as in the arena as many Serbs came to support their country today, which was also the case with Croatia. Cestitke Srbiji!

The full box score can be found here


My daily favorite:
The new FIBA referee uniforms are out and I got exclusive pictures of them for you!

Results of the consolidation games:
India - Singapore 20-31 (Goswani 10 - Low 19)
South Africa - Panama 21-13 (Festile 11 - Grenald 8)

For 15th Place:
Central African Republic - U.S. Virgin Islands 29-16 (Londoumon 16 - Swanston 9)

For 13th Place:
New Zealand - Egypt 26-29 (Fraser 8 - El Gindy 12)

For 11th Place:
Iran - Turkey 31-25 (Ojaghi 14 - Hotic 10)

For 9th Place:
Philippines - Puerto Rico 34-23 (Parks 13 - Torres 9)

For 7th Place:
Spain - Argentina 13-23 (Costa 7 - Rossi 13)

For 5th Place:
Lithuania - Israel 28-24 (Narkevicius 13 - Chernuvych 12)

FIBA