The 3X3.EXE League completed Round Two over the weekend and with six rounds left until the finals in Tokyo, Lincoln University.EXE is leading the Southern Conference.
Article courtesy BBNZ, Photographs courtesy GamefaceNZ/BBNZ
In the South Island series, The University of Canterbury.EXE team were able to serve up a little bit of their own medicine to Lincoln University to win round two, held at Christchurch’s Middleton Grange last Friday.
UC turned their fortunes around, not only overcoming a loss to Lincoln in pool play, but also bouncing back from missing the playoffs in round one last month to take the final 16-11. The University of Canterbury prevailed by beating Lincoln at their own game. Their superior shooting beyond the arc proved too much to combat for Lincoln, who did look like the form team going into the final, having gone throughout the night unbeaten.
The University of Canterbury relied on the clutch shooting of Max Allin who produced baskets when they were needed most including during overtime which resulted in a 14-13 victory against Gators.EXE.
LU had surged into the final on the back of excellent perimeter shooting, especially from Josiah Williams, who was dominant during pool play. Both Lincoln University and the University of Canterbury overcame wilting semi-final opponents – Lincoln outlasting Atami.EXE 19-10 while University of Canterbury proved too strong for Wolverines.EXE 22-11.
UC’s Allin said he had been batting a lower back issue for the past month and only got clearance to play in round two just hours before tip-off.
“It was great to have that fourth body on the bench tonight which we didn’t have in round one,” he said.
“I thought we played really well together, shot the ball really well and battled hard all night.”
Lincoln University remain the top team on the competition ladder, having been runners-up in each of the first two rounds of the competition. Josiah Williams said the team was confident shooting from deep and it almost got them the win on the night.
The third round in the South Island Conference will be played on June 22 at Cowles Stadium
Round Two Results:
Lincoln University 19-17 Gators
Wolverines 18-14 Checkers
Lincoln University 20-18 University of Canterbury
Atami 20-19 Wolverines
University of Canterbury 14-13 Gators
Checkers 16-14 Atami.
Semi final 1: Lincoln University 19, Atami 10.
Semi-final 2: University of Canterbury 22, 11.
Final: University of Canterbury 16, Lincoln University 11.
Official Results are available on play.fiba3x3.com, and a VOD stream of the night is available here
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.
• Round 3, 22-23 June
• 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
