© Sportreport
Austria’s representative on the 3×3 World Tour is off to a dream start in the month of October, which is crucial for Olympic qualification.
At the 100th Masters event in history, Linortner, Diggs, Kaltenbrunner and Murati triumphed in the final against Miami. Against the Americans led by ex-NBA star Jimmer Fredette, Team Vienna also managed direct revenge for the final defeat two weeks ago in Cebu. By winning the title, important points flow into Austria’s account in the nation ranking. The chances of taking part in two Olympic qualifying tournaments are still very good.
Team Vienna triumphs at the anniversary tournament of the 3×3 World Tour in Amsterdam! Matthias Linortner, Quincy Diggs, Nico Kaltenbrunner and Enis Murati won their first title of the season and the second overall in the team’s history at the 100th Masters after a nerve-wracking 21:19 final victory over Miami (Paris 2022).
Austria’s representative on the 3×3 World Tour is taking revenge for the final defeat in Cebu two weeks ago. In the Philippines, ex-NBA star Jimmer Fredette shattered Team Vienna’s title dreams with a buzzer beater.
This time Fredette, like teammate Canyon Barry, missed the game-winning basket. Enis Murati, who only joined Team Vienna in August, took advantage of his chance with a determined drive and sank a layup at 20:19 to win the tournament.
“We started the game well, we really wanted revenge and we succeeded. It feels good,” said Diggs in his first reaction after the final siren. Captain Linortner cheers: Everyone played their role fabulously today. I’m happy for all three of my colleagues: Enis, who finally had his breakout game in the semifinals and carried us offensively. Nico, who has taken his effort and defense to the next level since the beginning of the year and Quincy, who received his first MVP title! We are thoroughly enjoying our success this evening and from Monday we will be putting our full focus on the upcoming tournament trip to Asia to continue our series there.”
Important step on the way to possible participation in the Olympics
This makes the dream start to the month of October, which is so important for Olympic qualification, perfect. For winning the title in the Netherlands there are important points for the Federation Ranking. In the ranking, which summarizes the results of the national team and Team Vienna, Austria is currently in tenth place. As things stand, the domestic selection would therefore be qualified for two of three Olympic qualifying tournaments (UOQT1, UOQT2, OQT). Only at the UOQT2, which is reserved exclusively for the top teams of this year’s continental and world championships, are the 3×3 men just spectators.
In order to secure the starting places in the other two tournaments (UOQT1, OQT), Austria must roughly maintain tenth place in the Federation Ranking, or at least continue to leave Germany (11th) and/or Switzerland (12th) behind. At the tournaments themselves, Austria would then need either victory (UOQT1) or a place among the top 3 teams (OQT).
Linortner “sinks” Serbian top favorite Ub
In Amsterdam, Team Vienna took an important step in the race for starting places in the various Olympic qualifying tournaments.
On Friday, the only domestic World Tour team started the event in Amsterdam with a win against Utrecht (22:13) and a defeat against eventual final opponent Miami (17:22). This Saturday, Team Vienna moves into the semi-finals with a clear 21:12 over Princton, where the Serbian top favorite Ub Huishan NE is waiting. The Austrians convinced and ultimately made it to the final thanks to a strong offensive performance from Murati and a buzzer beater from Linortner – 21:16.
Led by tournament MVP Diggs, the ÖBV representatives got off to a good start and kept Miami at bay for almost the entire duration of the game. In the final phase, the Americans took the lead for a short time, but Team Vienna held their nerve.
Second title in club history
After podium finishes in Utsonomiya (3rd), Marseille (3rd) and most recently in Cebu (2nd), it is Team Vienna’s first victory on the 3×3 World Tour 2023 and, after the title in Paris 2022, their second success overall the club history.
There is hardly any time for the ÖBV quartet to take a breather. With the Masters events in Shanghai (October 14th-15th) and Chengdu (October 21st-22nd) as well as the Challenger events in Taipei (October 28th-29th) and Goa (November 1st-2nd) There are other important tournaments ahead of the Austrians. With the exception of the last stop, all of them take place before the “cut-off day” on November 1st and therefore count towards the Olympic qualification process.
Presseinfo
Basketball Austria
07.10.2023
2023-10-08 18:02:53
#Revenge #succeeded #Team #Vienna #wins #3×3 #Masters #Amsterdam
