Young guns Baskets Bonn of Germany and Cibona Ph.Classic of Croatia stole the spotlight on an action-packed opening day of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Dubai yesterday, as the tournament made its historic debut at Festival Bay, Dubai Festival City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German and Croatian sides both went unbeaten in pool play, with Cibona delivering one of the day’s biggest upsets against top-seeded Ub of Serbia. Amsterdam RABOBANK of the Netherlands and Liman of Serbia also completed perfect runs, while host team Dubai of the UAE thrilled the home crowd with a dramatic victory to secure their place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baskets Bonn made a strong statement in Pool D, winning both their games behind impressive performances from Fabian Giessmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German side opened with a 19-13 victory over qualifying draw winner Doha of Qatar, with Giessmann pouring in 13 points, including three two-pointers, to set the tone. Their second game against fellow German side Skyliners proved considerably tougher. Bonn built an 11-8 advantage midway through the contest and stretched their lead to 19-11 with under four minutes remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skyliners refused to go away, mounting a furious comeback to tie the game at 19-all with less than two minutes left. However, Denzel Agyeman delivered the decisive blow, draining the game-winning two-pointer to seal a thrilling 22-20 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cibona Ph.Classic produced one of the biggest results of the opening day, stunning top-seeded Ub 21-20 in a thrilling Pool A encounter. Ivan Vrgoc led the Croatian side with 10 points as Cibona handed the Serbian powerhouse their first defeat of the tournament and denied Ub a perfect pool-stage campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ub had opened their Dubai campaign with a convincing 20-13 victory over Toronto of Canada, powered by a strong all-around performance from Strahinja Stojacic. However, Cibona had other plans when the two sides met, pulling off a statement victory against one of the World Tour’s leading contenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Croatian team then completed their unbeaten run with a 20-15 victory over Toronto to close the day. Roko Spaseski led the way with 11 points, helping Cibona establish an early advantage before pulling away late in a physical contest. Cibona finished atop Pool A with a perfect 2-0 record, while Ub also advanced to the Quarter-Finals as runners-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second-seeded Amsterdam RABOBANK continued their strong form with two victories in Pool B. The Dutch side faced an early challenge against Lausanne of Switaerland, falling behind 14-9 before mounting an impressive comeback to claim a 22-19 victory. Olympic champion Worthy de Jong and Bryan Alberts each scored 10 points to lead the turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amsterdam then completed their pool sweep with a convincing 21-13 victory over Spain’s Fuengirola. Alberts delivered another strong offensive display with nine points, while the Dutch defense held Fuengirola standout Isaac Mayo scoreless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lausanne joined Amsterdam in the Quarter-Finals after edging Fuengirola 16-15 in a dramatic pool game. The Swiss side trailed 14-13 late before Jonathan Kazadi connected on a crucial two-pointer to give Lausanne a 16-15 lead with under a minute remaining. Fuengirola had one final opportunity but failed to get a shot away, allowing Lausanne to hold on for the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Liman also completed a perfect Pool C campaign, opening with a 22-15 win over host team Dubai. Andreja Milutinovic led the Serbian side with seven points and seven highlights, helping Liman overcome an impressive 12-point performance from Dubai’s Jean-Marc Mwema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liman followed that up with a 21-17 victory over DeQing of China, with Milutinovic scoring nine points and combining with Simeunovic for 16 points. The two victories secured Liman top spot in Pool C and a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Host team Dubai gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate with a thrilling 20-19 victory over DeQing of China to secure their place in the knockout rounds. Dubai raced to a 6-0 start and held an 11-5 advantage midway through the contest, but DeQing gradually worked their way back. The Chinese side tied the game at 13-all before moving ahead 15-13, setting up a tense finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the teams locked at 17-all in the final minute, Lachlan Anderson connected on a crucial two-pointer to put Dubai ahead 20-18. DeQing had one final opportunity after Anderson was called for a foul, but Guo Hanyu converted just one of his two free throws as Dubai held on for a memorable one-point victory. Anderson finished with nine points as the home side advanced to the quarter-finals, keeping their title hopes alive in front of their own fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Shootout Contest also delivered plenty of excitement, with four players booking their places in Saturday’s Final. Amsterdam RABOBANK’s Bryan Alberts led the qualifying round with eight points, followed by Toronto’s Adris De Leon with seven. Fuengirola’s Isaac Mayo and Ub’s Dejan Majstorovic each scored six points to complete the four-player Final lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All eyes will be on unbeaten upstarts Baskets Bonn and Cibona Ph.Classic as they look to carry their momentum into the knockout rounds. Meanwhile, Amsterdam RABOBANK and Liman will aim to continue their perfect runs, with top-seeded Ub looking to bounce back from their Pool A defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n QF1:<\/strong> Cibona Ph.Classic (CRO) vs. Dubai (UAE) <\/p>\n\n\n\n QF2:<\/strong> Baskets Bonn (GER) vs. Lausanne (SUI) <\/p>\n\n\n\n QF3:<\/strong> Amsterdam RABOBANK (NED) vs. Skyliners (GER) <\/p>\n\n\n\n QF4:<\/strong> Liman (SRB) vs. Ub (SRB)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Young guns Baskets Bonn of Germany and Cibona Ph.Classic of Croatia stole the spotlight on an action-packed opening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[94,52],"class_list":["post-17529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-3-x-3","tag-basketball"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\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\n\t\t\n\t\t