BAODING (China) - Shinagawa CITY EXE (JPN) produced an eye-catching performance to claim the FIBA 3x3 Baoding Challenger 2025 in an early season warning to rivals. Here's what happened on April 12-13 in the first Challenger of the season. The winners: Shinagawa CITY EXE (JPN) They were: No.1 fewest points allowed
There was much intrigue over the No.8 seed, primarily due to the record-breaking feats of scoring machine Ryo Ozawa after his heroics at the recent FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup.
Ozawa again lived up to the hype with plenty of clutch buckets, but he had lots of support in an even performance from this emerging Japanese team.
MVP Jan Demsar produced a stellar all-round effort and feasted on the boards, while Dusan Samardzic and Hayate Suzuki were also reliable bucket getters.
Shinagawa CITY EXE also exhibited outstanding team defense throughout, which proved key during a giant-killing run on Day Two that was highlighted by upsets over Utrecht (NED), Miami (USA) and Liman (SRB).
Continuing a terrific start to 2025 for Japanese 3x3, Shinagawa CITY EXE made an early season statement in style.
The runner-up: Liman (SRB) They were: No.2 fewest points allowed
Legendary Liman refuse to fade away. It might be a new year, but these 3x3 icons are ready to be among the very best in the business yet again.
The Serbs came agonizingly short of a title, but should feel encouraged to their start this season. Liman once again showcased their ability to close out tight games with a trio of tense Ws, including a 20-17 semi-final victory over a Chongming team featuring old foes Karlis Lasmanis and Nauris Miezis.
Aleksa Stojanovic might just make the leap into superstardom after a lights out campaign, while big fellas Mihailo Vasic and Marko Stevanovic dominated in the paint. After often falling short in 2024, Liman's next goal will be finishing off tournaments on a winning note.
The Final: Shinagawa CITY EXE 21-Liman 20
There was a lot of hype over a final featuring a rising team against the ageless old guard. And this mouth-watering contest did not disappoint as the red-hot teams went toe-to-toe.
Stevanovic threatened to tear the game apart with 3 early points as Liman skipped out to an early lead. As they showed throughout this breakout campaign, the Japanese team bounced back with Ozawa driving fearlessly to the rack as Shinagawa CITY EXE rediscovered their spark.
It was a game of runs as this final for the ages predictably went down to the wire. Ozawa threatened to reproduce his Asia Cup heroics by going bang, bang to lift his team to a 20-18 lead as Shinagawa CITY EXE could sniff the title.
But Stevanovic responded with a clutch two from the left side as it came down to a nerve-jangling finale. Suzuki produced an outstanding defensive stop to force the turnover before drawing the foul and finishing off his brilliant solo effort with a calm free-throw to trigger jubilation from the Shinagawa CITY EXE players.
The reward: Three tickets to the Marseille Masters Shinagawa CITY EXE, Liman and Miami qualified for the Marseille Masters on May 24-25. Final Standings: 1. Shinagawa CITY EXE (JPN) 2. Liman (SRB) 3. Miami (USA) 4. Chongming (CHN) 5. Utrecht (NED) Top Scorers: 1. Mitch Hahn (Miami, USA) 30 pts 2. Aleksa Stojanovic (Liman, SRB) 28 pts 3. Dusan Samardzic (Shinagawa CITY EXE, JPN) 27 pts 4. Jan Demsar (Shinagawa CITY EXE, JPN) 27 pts 5. Marko Stevanovic (Liman, SRB) 26 pts Key Stats: - Mitch Hahn had a jaw-dropping tournament for Miami to finish top overall in player-value (42.9). His masterpiece was a near triple-five of 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 highlights against Skyliners (GER) in the quarter-finals. - Superstar Worthy de Jong was typically mesmerizing as he racked up a triple-five of 8 points, 11 rebounds and 6 highlights over Qinhuangdao (CHN) on Day One. - Shinagawa CITY EXE's pool victory over Qinhuangdao lasted just 7'04" in playing time to be the fastest game of the tournament.
FIBA