Thrilling matches and game winners conclude two days of basketball action
It was almost a cloudy Monday (14 October) at the Katara Beach, but some of the greatest talents in 3✕3 Basketball world stage shined again on the court of the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019. Not to mention competitive matches, the first overtime and the first winning shots of the Games!
Dominican Republic defeated Venezuela 18-16 in overtime for Men’s Group B, with Adonis Nunez Garcia playing the hero role. Nunez Garcia tied the game at 16 with a buzzer-beater lay-up and in extra time he didn’t waste much time, scoring the winning two-pointer in the first shot!
Nunez Garcia explained: “I gain confidence from my teammates. They trusted me with the ball in clutch time and I was able to score twice.”
It was a much-needed win for his team, after losing to Argentina 19-11. In Tuesday’s (15 October) match against China, Dominican Republic must win and wait for an upset from winless Venezuela against Argentina (1-1), which defeated Dominican Republic, but lost to unbeaten China 21-18.
In Men’s Group D, Ukraine and Mongolia qualified for the quarter-finals before their own match-up, winning two games apiece. Ukraine, having already beaten Namibia 20-14, defeated Jordan 17-15 behind Ihor Starodub’s two free throws with only 0.4 seconds left! Starodub felt “no pressure at all” and also said that “in basketball we live for these moments.”
Mongolia prevailed over Jordan and Namibia, with 22-10 and 21-12 victories, respectively.
China women’s team is close to the second round from Group B thanks to two imposing performances. In the first match for the day, the Asians defeated Togo 21-4, keeping their opponents in just under 10 percent shooting and allowing only two made field goals in 21 attempts! Later in the evening, China beat Uganda 22-6 and will advance even with a 17-point loss to Indonesia.
Uganda defeated Indonesia 12-8 and will qualify as the second team with a victory against winless Togo (also lost to Indonesia 17-7) and a China’s win over Indonesia.
In Women’s Group D, France beat Argentina 17-10 and Mali 18-12 for a 2-0 record. Mali defeated Ukraine 17-15 and have one win and one loss apiece. Argentina has no hopes for the next round, losing to Ukraine 21-15.
The 3×3 Basketball Groups action continues and finishes on Tuesday (15 October), with the third and final games for all teams in both Men’s and Women’s preliminary. The first game starts at 15:00.
In an expected Men’s Group C nail-biter finale, three teams will try to advance to the knock-out stage. If Cote d’ Ivoire (1-1) beats Togo, Qatar (also 1-1) will have to defeat Slovenia (2-0) by seven points. If Cote d’ Ivoire loses, the host team shall advance along with Slovenia, with a win regardless the margin.
In Women’s Group C, the second ticket for the next round (since Netherlands have already qualified) is on the line for Brazil and Madagascar. The two teams face each other at 18:45.
