GB U23 3X3 SQUADS END NATIONS LEAGUE ADVENTURE
Great Britain men and women gave it all as the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League drew to a close in Szolnok, Hungary on Wednesday evening.
It wasn’t meant to be for both men and women in Hungary, but the two teams will go again in Poland in August.
But with the men finishing in the top four in two of the three stops on the tour and the women competing hard with a big win over Hungary during their stops, there was lots of motivation moving forward.
“I feel like we have made real progress from day one,” said GB men’s coach Afiz Olaniyan.
“Going from no wins to a win and two third place games, beating teams that had beaten us on the first and second day by reasonable margins, means for me we’re heading in the right direction in terms of our progression.”
The final stop saw Great Britain’s men fall short of the podium finishes for the second straight day as they fell 21-14 to Czechia.
Blake Bowman led GB with seven points in a back-and-forth battle that saw the two teams evenly matched for the first five minutes before Czechia made their move with a 6-0 run to take a 14-7 lead.
Despite GB’s best efforts to narrow the gap, which peaked at 20-10 with two minutes left, the Brits were only able to muster a 4-0 run before Michal Svojanovsky clinched the third spot for Czechia with 29 seconds left.
Earlier in the afternoon, the men found Gur Lavy and Israel too much to handle, losing 19-9.
Great Britain started well enough, taking the lead for the first four minutes with Bowman and Veron Eze inspired.
But Israel, led by Lavy, who had nine points, found their groove and took the win as GB’s execution was lacking.
However, Great Britain responded in the best possible way by thumping Poland 21-11 in their second game.
Eze exploded for eight points as all GB players got on the scoresheet. An 8-0 spurt within a two-minute spell put Great Britain up 16-6 with all four scoring in that spell.
GB sealed the deal with 1:46 to spare as Toto Fagbenle scored to cap off a big win, leading to their third placed game against Czechia.
WOMEN FALL SHORT BUT RICHER FOR EXPERIENCE
Great Britain’s women fell to an 0-2 record on Stop 3 of the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League.
As a result, they were unable to advance to the medal games, but despite falling short, the three days in Szolnok was a valuable experience and will leave the youngsters in good stead for Poland.
“Throughout both games, we demonstrated some great moments; however, these experienced teams capitalised on our errors with greater efficiency,” said GB women’s coach Sarah Hopkins.
“Our women exhibited remarkable improvement over the course of the three days. Transitioning directly from a training camp to the Nations League, securing a victory, and competing against the Stop winners exemplifies the potential of GB 3×3.
Game one saw GB drop their first game 18-8 to Poland as a slow start, mixed with early foul trouble hampered the youngsters.
Trailing 5-1 within three minutes and with four fouls to GB’s name compared to none from the disciplined Poles, the writing looked to be on the wall.
True to their form, Great Britain never gave up, and took the game to their experienced opponents, reducing the deficit to 7-4 with four minutes played, thanks to a two-pointer from Ella Doherty.
But Poland had the answers to GB’s positive passage of play and maintained a sizable lead, en route to a ten-point win when the clock expired.
Jessie Ford had three points to lead Great Britain.
But with a poor start behind them, Sarah Hopkins’ side knew they had to come back stronger in game two against Israel.
And despite a much brighter start, Great Britain’s hopes dimmed, narrowly losing 14-11.
Katie Bennett led the charge for GB with four points with Ford again in amongst the scorers with three.
Zooming out to a 5-1 cushion with less than two minutes played, it was a great beginning for the Brits.
But Israel were pressing and threatening, and their perseverance paid off as a two-pointer from May Revahe – who led her side with nine points – tied the game at 6-6 with 7:01 left.
GB retook the lead through Doherty shortly after and enjoyed a three-point lead, however the Israelis responded with a game-changing 5-0 burst to change the complexion of the game and sealed the win.
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