Hosts Huaqiao register fastest win in World University League history

On a spectacular Day 2 of the 3×3 FISU World University League Finals, FISU ‘Athlete of the Week’ Zheng Yi led Huaqiao University to a commanding win in less than five minutes, a clash between University of Costa Rica and Mon-Altius Physical of Mongolia went down to the wire, and the first buzzer beater of the tournament raised the tempo.

XIAMEN – It was the last scheduled match of the day, but it was the one that brought the capacity crowd to its feet. Tournament hosts Huaqiao University of China scored 22 points in less than five minutes, leaving a hapless quartet from National University of La Matanza, Argentina, stunned and searching for answers.

From the word go, it was raining baskets for the Chinese and Zheng Yi put the Argentinians out of their misery at 4 minutes and 53 seconds, with a casual shot from well outside the 2-point line that took their total to 22 points for the win. It was the shortest match in World University League history. More on Zheng Yi here.

Another dramatic match of the day was between University of Physical Education, Hungary and ISEG, Senegal in women’s Pool B. In this game though, the script was quite the opposite.

The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout, heading into a deadlock at the end of ten minutes. But in a last gasp effort and with overtime looming, Diána Miháczi beat the buzzer to hand the Hungarians a thrilling 12-11 victory.

Yet another nail-biting finish came in the match between University of Costa Rica and Mon-Altius Physical Education Institute of Mongolia. With just 20 seconds left on the clock, the Costa Ricans had a narrow one point lead at 14-13 when suddenly a superb 2-pointer from Ulzii-Orshikh turned the score 15-14 in favour of the Mongolians.

It wasn’t over yet. With 9 seconds left, Jaime Goldenberg – who has been impressive throughout the first two days – scored again from the 2-point line to snatch victory in the last few seconds. It still wasn’t enough to lift them from the bottom of the Pool A table though, as it was the sole win for them in the group stages.

“The Mongolian team is very tough and works really hard, it was tough to beat them!” Goldenberg said after the game. “But I believe our chemistry as a team and knowing that we have our country’s name on our backs is what gave us the strength to beat them.”

On Day 3, the Costa Ricans may just have another chance when they take on an imposing Canadian outfit from McGill University as the knockout stages begin. 

Scroll down for all Day 2 scores and Day 3 brackets, where all 16 teams will now play each other in direct knock-out matches. The full brackets for the men’ Last 16 can be found and for the women, .