{"id":14494,"date":"2026-07-05T09:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=14494"},"modified":"2026-07-05T09:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T02:08:29","slug":"neftchi-socar-secure-second-womens-series-win-in-marseille","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/neftchi-socar-secure-second-womens-series-win-in-marseille\/","title":{"rendered":"Neftchi SOCAR secure second Women\u2019s Series win in Marseille"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Neftchi SOCAR<\/em> of Azerbaijan continued their outstanding 2026 campaign after defeating Canada 15-9 to win the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Marseille on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It marked a second Women’s Series title of the season for the Azerbaijani side, who once again relied on their trademark defense and timely scoring to lift the trophy in southern France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neftchi SOCAR<\/em> came out firing and immediately put Canada on the back foot, racing to a 6-2 lead as their opponents struggled to find their offensive rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With both teams finding points hard to come by, the Azerbaijani side maintained complete control and extended the advantage to 11-5 with less than three minutes remaining. Aoi Katsura then pushed the lead to 13-7 and left Canada with a mountain to climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadians attempted a late rally, but Arica Carter put the exclamation point on another memorable performance by drilling the game-clinching two-pointer to seal a 15-9 victory and spark the celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter led the winners with five points, while Alexandra Mollenhauer added four. Katherine Plouffe and Cassandra Brown paced Canada with three points apiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neftchi SOCAR<\/em>‘s path to the title was anything but easy. They needed overtime to edge Hungary (HUN) 19-18 in a thrilling pool opener before defeating Slovakia 21-14 to secure top spot in Pool A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eventual champions then ended Uganda’s magical run with an 18-15 quarter-finals victory before producing another defensive masterclass to beat host nation France 14-10 in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada were equally impressive on their journey to the title game. They dominated Pool B with convincing victories over Rome and Italy, before overpowering compatriots Ottawa 22-11 in the quarter-finals behind a 12-point explosion from Paige Crozon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their semi-final against France U25 proved to be a sterner test, but the experience of Katherine Plouffe helped Canada hold off the spirited youngsters for an 18-16 victory and a place in the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France and France U25 ultimately rounded out the podium after memorable home campaigns, while Uganda’s remarkable run from the qualifying draw to the quarter-finals was one of the standout stories of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arica Carter was named the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Marseille 2026 Most Valuable Player after producing another sensational all-around tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Neftchi SOCAR<\/em> star led the event in player value (47.7), total points (31), highlights (25), double-fives (2), free throws made (7), key assists (13) and drives (12), while also finishing second in rebounds with 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter’s leadership and clutch shot-making were on full display throughout the tournament, including the title-clinching two-pointer in the Final, as she guided Neftchi SOCAR<\/em> to their second Women’s Series triumph of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINAL STANDINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Neftchi SOCAR<\/em> (AZE) 2. Canada (CAN) 3. France (FRA) 4. France U25 (FRA) 5. Hungary (HUN) 6. Uganda (UGA) 7. Italy (ITA) 8. Ottawa (CAN) 9. Slovakia (SVK) 10. Beijing (CHN) 11. Madrid (ESP) 12. Rome (ITA) 13. Portugal (POR) 14. Slovakia U23 (SVK) 15. Fuengirola (ESP) 16. Benin (BEN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neftchi SOCAR of Azerbaijan continued their outstanding 2026 campaign after defeating Canada 15-9 to win the FIBA 3×3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[88,52],"class_list":["post-14494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-3x3","tag-basketball"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t