GB BATTLE BUT FALL TO SWISS IN 3X3 EUROPE CUP

Great Britain battled bravely but lost 21-10 to Switzerland in the FIBA 3X3 Europe Cup quarter-finals in Vienna, Austria on Saturday afternoon.

The double-digit loss, though, doesn’t reflect the grit and determination in Julius Joseph’s men’s performance, which led for a large portion of the game.

Great Britain’s quarter-final finish, despite being the lowest-ranked side coming into this tournament, showcased their arrival as a 3X3 nation.

Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and Evan Walshe paced GB with three points each in a balanced scoring effort. Ashley Hamilton and Hafeez Abdul both had two.

“Obviously, a disappointing way to end the tournament for us. We had a great fight, but credit to the Swiss; they came up big at the back end of the game,” Walshe said.

“Of course, we wanted to perform better, but in this game, the team with the most intelligent energy normally wins, and we didn’t have that today.”

Walshe added: “The tournament for us has been amazing. Personally, I’ve had so much pride wearing GB on my chest here at the Europe Cup. Obviously, this is our first time here, but it definitely won’t be the last.

“We’ve had a great run this summer qualifying in Romania and making it to the quarter-finals here in our first appearance at the Europe Cup; credit goes to our support staff, who have been excellent the whole time, as well as Coach Julius putting the extra hours to make sure we were prepared.”

Having enjoyed the lead for chunks of what was a highly physical contest, the Brits were comfortable at 7-4 late on, thanks to a double at the top from Abdul.

It was a positive showing against a Switzerland side that seemed overly reliant on flashy passes, which resulted in turnovers.

Unfortunately for GB, they let the Swiss back into the game with easy baskets inside, and that motivated them to take the lead at 10-8, a lead they would not relinquish.

With Great Britain deep in the penalty and continuing to commit fouls, Switzerland took advantage and sealed their first-ever semi-final spot with a double from the wing from Jonathan Dubas.  

Natan Jurkovitz led the Swiss with nine points.

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