Qatar’s triumph not enough, as hosts left out of the quarter-finals in a triple-tie

The most thrilling match in ANOC World Beach Games’ 3×3 basketball competition left a bittersweet taste to the host fans on Tuesday (15 October). Qatar beat Slovenia 16-15 at the Katara Beach, after Faisal Abuissa’s two-pointer went in with 9.2 seconds left on the clock, but they couldn’t advance to the knock-out stage that starts on Wednesday.

The Qatari team needed a seven-point-margin victory to qualify, or a Cote d’ Ivoire loss to Togo. Cote d’ Ivoire’s 16-8 win was enough to wιn Group C in a 2-1 record triple tie and Slovenia took second place over the home team on total points scored (49 to 44).

Qatar’s team manager and legend of Qatari basketball, Yasseen Ismail Musa quoted “We missed Moustafa Fouda, who plays professionally in Egypt and injured Nedim Muslic,” and added that “3×3 basketball is quick-paced and you need to have speed and outside shooting, fields in which we lacked.”

In another nail-biter closure in men’s Group B, Argentina defeated winless Venezuela 21-19 in overtime (after a 19-19 tie in regulation) and qualified to the elimination games with two wins! Juan Esteban De La Fuente had the last word said in extra time, hitting a winning two-pointer off the glass! China won the group with a 3-0 record, beating Dominican Republic (1-2 record) 19-14.

Brazil also managed to remain unbeaten in men’s Group’s A top-seed decider against Russia. The Brazilians won 17-14, in the only game of the group. Uganda’s two injuries forced them to withdraw and Latvia got its first win with a walk-over.

Ukraine went on to win Group D with three wins, defeating Mongolia 17-15, as they both qualified. Jordan finished third, after beating winless Namibia 21-15.

In women’s Group A, the United States faced no problems in their most anticipated game. They defeated Russia 22-3 behind Jacquelyn Young’s nine-point performance and extended their winning streak to three games. The American team, though, brings the Russians (2-1 record) along in the quarter-finals. Jordan defeated winless Dominican Republic 12-10 in the consolation match for third place.

China won women’s Group B without a loss, beating Indonesia (1-2) 21-10. Uganda will compete in the quarter-finals, after prevailing over Togo (0-3) with a 20-3 win and reaching a 2-1 record. Uganda’s Melissa Akullu said that “It took a lot of mental preparation. We felt pressure as it was a do-or-die match, but we managed to qualify.”

In women’s Group C, unbeaten Netherlands defeated Mongolia (0-3) 21-5 and Brazil (2-1) securing the second spot for the next round, with a 21-9 win over Madagascar (1-2). France (3-0) won Group D beating Ukraine (1-2) 15-10 and advanced along with Mali (2-1) to the quarter-finals after the latter 21-17 victory over winless Argentina.

The 3×3 Basketball knock-out stage starts on Wednesday (16 October) at 14:30, with the women’s quarter-finals. First game will be USA v Brazil, while France will face Uganda at 14:55. China will take on Mali at 16:10 and Netherlands will meet Russia at 16:35.

In men’s quarter-finals, Brazil waits for Slovenia at 15:20, Ukraine is playing Argentina at 15:45, China will face Mongolia at 17:00 and Cote d’ Ivoire will entertain Russia at 17:25.

Winners will qualify to the semi-finals, while the finals and the bronze medal matches will start later in the evening.