The men’s quarterfinals at the 3×3 World Championships in Antwerp (BEL) will take place without Austria’s basketball players. The ÖBV selection with Nico and Steven Kaltenbrunner, Matthias Linortner and Martin Trmal was eliminated on Saturday afternoon in the play-in by a 13:19 against France. Alexia Allesch, Anja Fuchs-Robetin, Camilla Neumann and Michaela Wildbacher were eliminated in the group stage the day before.
Antwerp meant the World Cup premiere for both men and women. The domestic selections had qualified via the world rankings and entered the tournament as number twelve or ten. Although several games were lost relatively closely, the balance was ultimately sobering. In nine games of the two Austrian teams there was only one victory to celebrate. It was the men’s 8-22 against Egypt in Tuesday’s opener.
Matthis Linortner was able to present himself offensively well. The Upper Austrian scored 7.0 points per game and was one of the best scorers in the tournament. In the end that was not enough. “We knew how they played and knew we had to control the game. We’re glad we’re through,” said Frenchman Antoine Eito. The next goal of the ÖBV selections is the 3×3 European Championship. The continental tournament will take place in Graz from September 9th to 11th.
