UC.EXE jumps to the top of the 3X3.EXE leaderboard after a second straight win
Portions of this article courtesy Piet Van Hasselt and BBNZ
The University of Canterbury.EXE team were undermanned, but still came through when it counted, winning the third leg of the 3X3.EXE Southern Conference held at Cowles Stadium on Sunday Night
This round the UC.EXE team consisted of Josh Peterman, Max Allin and Paul Stephenson, with Brent Fisher away on playing duties the Canterbury Rams in Wellington. With no substitute the team was stretched but found a way to take out four highly intense matches. This was the second victory for UC, and they now sit atop the table tied with Lincoln University.EXE.
Lincoln University.EXE went with a four Point-Guard line-up, and looked like the strategy would pay off this round, as their hot shooting saw them grab a substantial lead in their semi-final, before Atami came storming back as Derek Albertsen and Paul McFarlin started turning the game. It was Patrick Rodger who made the game saving block on what looked to be the game sealing layup from Jayden Chan, and Atami was able to get to 21 first.
In the other semi-final UC’s Max Allin would look to take the ball inside whenever he felt he had a mismatch, and his teammates Josh Petermann and Paul Stephenson were on absolute fire from behind the arc – helping them escape with a win as they got to 22 to end the game.
UC.EXE had control of the Round Three final for most of the game, with a desperation Albertsen shot at the buzzer closing the gap to one point. UC smartly avoiding a challenge here that would have risked sending Albertsen to the line for a three point play opportunity, which was the only path to overtime for Atami.EXE.
Standings after Three Rounds (of Eight): UC 8, Lincoln 8, Atami 7, Gators 6, Wolverines 4, Checkers 0
Round Three Results:
Lincoln University 21-0 Checkers
University of Canterbury 22-16 Wolverines
Lincoln University 21-13 Gators
University of Canterbury 21-15 Atami
Gators 21-0 Checkers
Atami 21-10 Wolverines
Semi final 1: Atami 21-20 Lincoln University
Semi-final 2: University of Canterbury 22-19 Gators
Final: University of Canterbury 16-15 Atami
Official Results are available on play.fiba3x3.com, and a VOD stream of the night is available here (part two and three will be added soon)
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 4, 6-7 July
• Round 5, 20-21 July
• 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
