The University of Canterbury.EXE remain South Island Conference leaders after winning round five at Christchurch’s Ara Institute
This article courtesy BBNZ
UC were bolstered with the addition of Canterbury Rams veteran Tony Tolovae, meaning the side now had two Rams (Brent Fisher) at their disposal. Their physicality and prowess inside proved too much for arch-rivals Lincoln University, prevailing 21-16 in the final.
It was Canterbury’s third win in five rounds, with Lincoln claiming yet another runners-up title. The two met in the round-robin stages, with Lincoln’s sharp-shooters of Ihaia Kendrew, Ben Hall and Josiah Williams powering them to a 21-19 win.
Gators.EXE welcomed back the competition’s best shooter Matt Mishewski after he missed the previous round with an injury. Mishewski and co went unbeaten in pool play but their form didn’t carry over to their semi-final clash with Canterbury, losing 20-12. Lincoln outlasted Checkers.EXE 20-16 in the other semifinal.
Tolovae was pleased with his side’s win and said the speed of the game was immense:
“It’s really fast man, I’m gassed.
“I’m just picking it up as I go along, I got told the rules when I got here this morning.”
Kendrew, who made five two-pointers in Lincoln’s opening game win against Atami.EXE, said the shots dropped for his team in pool play but that rebounding remained a concern.
“We’ll have to work on boxing-out ahead of the next round.
“We just want to win one at this stage.”
Round Five Results:
Lincoln University. EXE 21 – 13 Atami.EXE
Gators.EXE 15 – 14 Checkers.EXE
University of Canterbury.EXE 20 – 18 Atami.EXE
Checkers.EXE 16 – 13 Wolverines.EXE
Lincoln University.EXE 21 – 19 Canterbury University.EXE
Gators.EXE 21 – 13 Wolverines.EXE
Semi-final 1: Lincoln University.EXE 20, Checkers.EXE 16.
Semi-final 2: University of Canterbury.EXE 20, Gators.EXE 12.
Final: University of Canterbury.EXE 21, Lincoln University.EXE 16.
SOUTH ISLAND CONFERENCE – Points Table after five rounds:
University of Canterbury.EXE 15, Lincoln University.EXE 13, Gators.EXE 10, Atami.EXE 7, Checkers.EXE 6, Wolverines 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:
• Round 6, 3-4 August
• 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
