Look Back ~ Champions crowned at 2017 Finals
After four days of 3×3 basketball on the Huaqiao University campus, Mon-Altius Physical Education Institute and Chinese Culture University went back to class as the world number one university 3×3 teams
XIAMEN – After four days and seven games, two university 3×3 teams strode to centre court to accept the individual medals and team trophy bestowed upon the victors of the 3×3 FISU World University League finals. The two teams, though, took different paths to the title.
The Chinese Culture University team hails from Taipei, island of Taiwan, that just saw their hometown host the Taipei Summer Universiade last month. There, the Chinese Taipei delegation had their most successful performances in international multisport competition, winning 26 gold medals and 90 total medals.
In Xiamen, the winning continued as the Chinese Culture University quartet of Pin Lo, Cing Yang, I-Hsin Cheng and Ting-Yu Lin ran the table from preliminaries to finals. To take the title, the team defeated the University of Regina 21:12 in the final. Lo and Cheng led a well-balanced scoring attack with 6 points a piece in the finals against the team from Regina, Canada. It’s the second year in a row the University of Regina Cougars basketball team made the women’s final game.
Completing the women’s podium was Qinghai Normal University. The team from northwest China rode the last of the wildcard entries all the way to the semifinals before losing to Chinese Culture University 6:11. The women’s quartet bounced back in the bronze medal match with a 17:8 victory against the University of Physical Education from Hungary.
Mon-Altius Physical Education Institute, meanwhile, took a more circuitous route to the 2017 title. The Mongolian team lost their first two games in the preliminary pool play, first 14:18 to Srinakharinwarot University and then again to 13:16 to McGill University, the 2016 titlist and eventual 2017 bronze medalist.
After the hard-fought loss to the Canadians, however, the team from Mongolia comprised of Batzolboo Borgil, Enkhbaatar Onolbaatar, Naranbaat Batdelger and Tsogt Otgonjargal found their groove in the knock out rounds, especially on offense, to make an inspired run to the championship game.
In the finals, Mon-Altius met the University of Kragujevac. The Serbian team made it there with a thrilling 19:18 semifinal victory over McGill University. In the finals, Mon-Altius withstood the 10-point scoring attack from Nikola Sucov with a more balanced offense, which was led by Borgil in the final.
“I haven’t thought about we could get the first place because this is the first time we play in the 3×3 WUL league final,” Borgil’s teammate Enkhbaatar Onolbaatar said. Onolbaatar adding that they already had their eye coming back for the 2018 League finals to defend their title
In the men’s bronze medal match, McGill University looked rejuvenated after their narrow semifinal loss. The defending champs rode the sharpshooting of Jenning Leung to outlast Universidad do Chile 22:13 to take the final step of the 2017 League podium.
The third place follows two gold medal performances from a Canadian team in the two previous editions of the League finals. Afterwards, the McGill University players said they were eager to come back to the FISU event, with an eye of regaining the title.
All told, sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s university qualified for the finals in Xiamen through a series of national and continental tournaments. For the two victors, there’s an extra special carrot – a trip to compete at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Mexico City Masters. Ensuring that university basketball stays a vibrant community of the sport is a partnership that FIBA, basketball’s international federation, supports at the highest level.
FIBA’s Secretary General Patrick Baumann said he’s “very happy” with FISU’s work in developing the sport of basketball, particularly 3×3. “It’s very cool. We’ve been working on this for about 10 years. (FISU) brings together the best teams, with a very high level of competition.
“FISU was very fast to jump on the train to help organize 3×3 since basically the beginning,” Baumann added. “It’s the perfect game for university students.”
