Slovenia Men and Hungary Women are Cager Champs
Slovenia’s Men and Hungary’s Women emerged Team champions at the recently concluded International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Under-23 3×3 Basketball (BB) Nations League Tournament 2017, at the General Sir John Kotelawela Defence University Outdoor Courts, Ratmalana, last weekend.
Men’s and Women’s BB teams from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia, Jordan and Sri Lanka competed in this successful tournament hosted by Sri Lanka.
In the Women’s semifinals, Hungary scored an easy 21-3 victory over Sri Lanka ‘A’, while the Netherlands coasted home to a 21-11 win over the Czech Republic. Hungary won the Women’s championship with an easy 19-9 win over the Netherlands.
The Men’s semifinals saw Slovenia beat the Czech Republic 21-15, while Sri Lanka ‘B’ went down fighting by the same margin to the Netherlands. In a closely contested final, Slovenia crowned themselves Men’s champions with a hard fought 21-19 win over the Netherlands.
Hungary’s Vivi Borondy (Women) and Slovenia’s Tjaz Rotar (Men) were adjudged FIBA 3×3 U-23 Nations League 2017 Most Valuable Players.
Speaking at the conclusion of the tournament, SLBF President Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe said, “We are delighted to have been chosen to host this year’s FIBA Nations League and to witness these matches. The event concluded successfully and the 3 days of BB spectacle proved a delight among the teams and fans of this sport.”.
Alongside the tournament, SLBF also organised a 3×3 BB Invitational Tournament and a workshop for children U-17, to promote 3×3 BB among schoolchildren.