The latest round of 3×3.EXE Premier League saw UC book their flights to Japan next month.
This article courtesy BBNZ
University of Canterbury.EXE will head to Japan next month off the back of a buzzer-beater one-legged jump shot from Paul Stephenson to claim round seven of the 3×3.EXE South Island Conference on Sunday.
The final was played against a spirited Gators.EXE team, where the game was tied at 20-20 before Stephenson launched a successful shot from the perimeter to give his team a 22-20 win in the most dramatic fashion.
Canterbury’s win confirmed them as one of the two South Island teams heading to Japan for the Premier finals next month, the final spot will be decided in this weekend’s final round of games, between Lincoln University.EXE, who are in the box seat, and Gators.
UC player Brent Fisher said with the weight of pressure off their shoulders they’ll look to build on their combinations before they head overseas.
Barclay Miller (Gators) said he felt his team played well enough to steal the final but it wasn’t to be.
He also mentioned he was hopeful sharp-shooter Matt Mischewskj would have recovered from a sore wrist in time for the final round.
UC stumbled their way into the semifinals but with Fisher dominating in the paint and Stephenson shooting jumpers accurately, Atami.EXE were always chasing the game.
However, Atami, who struggled to find their shot early, eventually found their rhythm and took the lead late Canterbury got their act together and held on for the win.
Gators, minus Mischewski, were playing for their season in their semi-final against Lincoln and they withstood a strong comeback to prevail 17-16 – if LU had won the game both tickets to Japan would have been confirmed – instead Round Eight (25 August, 11am at Ara Gymnasium) will see which will be the second team representing Canterbury in Japan next month.
Round Seven Results:
Atami.EXE 21, Wolverines.EXE 10
Lincoln University.EXE 22, University of Canterbury.EXE 18
Atami.EXE 19, Gators.EXE 14
University of Canterbury .EXE 19, Checkers.EXE 17
Gators.EXE 22, Wolverines.EXE 6
Lincoln University.EXE 21, Checkers.EXE 14.
Semifinal 1: University of Canterbury.EXE 21, Atami.EXE 17
Semifinal 2: Gators.EXE 17, Lincoln University.EXE 16
Final: University of Canterbury.EXE 22, Gators.EXE 20
SOUTH ISLAND CONFERENCE – Points Table after seven rounds:
University of Canterbury.EXE 21, Lincoln University.EXE 19, Gators.EXE 16, Atami.EXE 9, Checkers.EXE 8, Wolverines.EXE 4.
Official Results are available on play.fiba3x3.com, and the event was streamed on our facebook page
More information:
The winners of each of the South Island and North Island conferences after all eight rounds will qualify for the 3X3.EXE Premier finals in Japan.
The teams that come second in each of the NZ conferences will go to a qualifying tournament, and the winning team will be given automatic entry in the main tournament. With all expenses paid, those four teams will compete for a share of USD$20,000 in prize-money in Tokyo in September. The winner of the big Tokyo based event will also qualify for a FIBA World Tour Masters Event.
NZ 3X3.EXE Rounds Remaining:
• Round 7, 17-18 August
• Round 8, 24-25 August
• 3×3.EXE Playoffs in Tokyo, 7-8 September
For more information including Schedule, Ladder, Teams and Images, please see the dedicated 3X3.EXE BBNZ page
Follow the 3X3.EXE Premier League on Basketball New Zealand’s social media channels: @BasketballNZ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and on the website, nz.basketball
