FIBA 3x3 World Cup winners, Russia, put a firm stop to Ireland’s march through the Europe Cup qualifiers in France this evening, as they put in a clinical display to win out by 17-8 in the semi-final.
Ireland's Niamh Dwyer, who has been impressing for the women in green since the tournament tipped off yesterday, was on form again this afternoon, bagging seven of Ireland’s eight points in the semi-final. As the clock ticked under five minutes though, Russia began to stretch out their lead, going on a six-point run before Gráinne Dwyer was on hand to pull a basket back for the Irish.
There was no doubting why the Russian side had been crowned FIBA 3x3 World Cup champions just a few days ago though, as they continued to dominate right until the final buzzer to book their spot in the final against Spain tomorrow.
Speaking afterwards, Coach Hall reflected on what was a fantastic tournament for the Irish women: “This was a very successful tournament for Ireland. We came here with the goal of qualifying for the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup in Amsterdam and we achieved that. It’s been a learning curve for us here and the experience of playing against some of the top teams in the world will really stand to us over the coming weeks. We’re really looking forward to Amsterdam now."
There was heartbreak for the Ireland Senior Men’s 3x3 team in Andorra meanwhile as their second group game against the hosts went right down to the wire, with Andorra taking the win at the death, 21-20.
Ireland came back from an 11-3 deficit earlier on in the game before Jason Killeen put them ahead by just one point with 29 seconds on the clock. A steal in the dying seconds by Andorra though, saw them whip the ball outside and slot it home from distance to take the win on the buzzer. The loss was the Irish squad’s second of the day, which means they did not qualify out of their group to reach the next stage of the tournament.
Speaking afterwards, Ireland's Jason Killeen stated: “We are bitterly disappointed with the result against Andorra and feel like we should have taken it in the end, especially after coming back from 11-3 down early in the game. A lack of game experience hurt our decision making down the stretch and Andorra made us pay for our mistakes.
“The Oblate Basketball Club were there supporting us and made the atmosphere feel like a home game. We were delighted to see so many familiar faces in the crowd so thanks to them. This is a sport where Ireland can really excel and we should be encouraging our young athletes to play more and compete at the highest level,” he continued. “Huge shout out and congratulations to the senior women on a massive performance in France, we are all very proud.”
Results - Ireland Senior Women 3x3 (Day 2)
Saturday, June 24th
Quarter-finals
Ukraine 10-13 Ireland
Semi-finals
Ireland 8-17 Russia
Detailed Results - Ireland Senior Women 3x3
Game 4 - Semi final (Saturday, June 24th)
Ireland: 8
Russia: 17
FIBA 3x3 World Cup winners, Russia, put a firm stop to Ireland’s march through the Europe Cup qualifiers in France this evening, as they put in a clinical display to win out by 17-8 in the semi-final.
Niamh Dwyer, who has been impressing for the women in green since the tournament tipped off yesterday, was on form again this afternoon, bagging seven of Ireland’s eight points in the semi-final.
As the clock ticked under five minutes though, Russia began to stretch out their lead, going on a six-point run before Gráinne Dwyer was on hand to pull a basket back for the Irish.
There was no doubting why the Russian side had been crowned FIBA 3x3 World Cup champions just a few days ago though, as they continued to dominate right until the final buzzer to book their spot in the final against Spain.
Speaking afterwards, Coach Hall reflected on what was a hugely successful tournament for the Irish women: “This was a very successful tournament for Ireland. We came here with the goal of qualifying for the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup in Amsterdam and we achieved that. It’s been a learning curve for us here and the experience of playing against some of the top teams in the world will really stand to us over the coming weeks. We’re really looking forward to Amsterdam now.”
IRELAND: Niamh Dwyer (7), Gráinne Dwyer (1), Fiona O’Dwyer, Claire Rockall.
Game 3 - Quarter final (Saturday, June 24th)
Ireland: 13
Ukraine: 10
There will be big celebrations in France today as the Ireland Senior Women’s 3x3 team caused a major upset in the quarter-finals of the FIBA 3x3 European Cup qualifiers this afternoon, with a 13-10 point win over 3x3 World Cup bronze medalists Ukraine.
The win has not only ensured a spot in today’s semi-finals for the squad, but it has also earned them a place at the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup which will take place in Amsterdam from July 7-9th.
Gráinne Dwyer got the scoring underway for Ireland in the quarter-final this afternoon, and while Ukraine responded straight away, Dwyer was on hand to punish at the next time of asking. Points from Niamh Dwyer, Fiona O’Dwyer and Claire Rockall kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Irish to push them into an 8-3 point lead midway through the game.
A late rally from Ukraine teed up a nerve-wracking finish though, as they came back from an 11-6 deficit to close the game to just two (11-9), but the cool heads of Niamh and Gráinne Dwyer ensured there was no room for defeat, and saw Ireland home to a memorable 13-10 point win in the end. They will now face Russia later today in the semi-final.
Speaking about the news, Head Coach, Matt Hall stated: "It was a fantastic performance by the team today. They learned a lot from their group games against Czech Republic and Poland yesterday and came out here this afternoon knowing that they were able to cause a major upset and that’s exactly what they did. The enormity of this win is unbelievable. Ireland is ranked 48th in the world at 3x3 women's basketball, but are proving themselves more than capable against teams who are ranked in the top 10 in the world. It’s truly a massive achievement.
"We are absolutely thrilled to have qualified for the FIBA Europe Cup in Amsterdam and cannot wait to be there," he continued. "But for now, our focus remains here in France as we face Russia in the semi final today."
IRELAND: Grainne Dwyer (6), Fiona O'Dwyer (3), Niamh Dwyer (2), Claire Rockall (2)
Results: Ireland Senior Men Europe Cup qualifiers
Saturday, June 24th
Ukraine 21-7 Ireland
Andorra 21-20 Ireland
Detailed Results: Ireland Senior Men's 3x3
Game 2 (Saturday, June 24th)
Andorra: 21
Ireland: 20
There was heartbreak for the Ireland Senior Men’s 3x3 team in Andorra this evening as their second group game against the hosts went right down to the wire with Andorra taking the win at the death, 21-20.
Jason Killeen put Ireland ahead by just one point with 29 seconds on the clock after bagging two free-throws from the line, but a steal in the dying seconds by Andorra saw them whip the ball outside and slot it home from distance to take the win on the buzzer. The loss was the squad’s second of the day, which means they did not qualify out of their group to reach the next stage of the tournament.
Speaking afterwards, Irish player Jason Killeen stated: “We are bitterly disappointed with the result against Andorra and felt like we should have taken it in the end, especially after coming back from 11-3 down early in the game. A lack of game experience hurt our decision making down the stretch and Andorra made us pay for our mistakes.
“The Oblate Basketball Club were there supporting us and made the atmosphere feel like a home game. We were delighted to see so many familiar faces in the crowd so thanks to them. This is a sport where Ireland can really excel and we should be encouraging our young athletes to play more and compete at the highest level,” he continued. “Huge shout out and congratulations to the senior women on a huge performance in France, we are all very proud.”
IRELAND: Sean Flood (7), Jason Killeen (6), Stephen James (6), Paul Freeman (1)
Game 1 (Saturday, June 24th)
Ukraine: 21
Ireland: 7
Ireland senior men’s 3x3 team came up against a very tough and strong Ukrainian side in the opening game of their FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifying games this afternoon.
The men in green just couldn’t keep a well-drilled and tactically clever Ukraine side at bay, and went down 21-7 in the end.
Scores from Stephen James and Sean Flood early on kept Ireland in touch in the opening three minutes but, by midway through the game, Ukraine had opened up a 12-5 lead. Two more scores from Paul Freeman with just under five minutes to go on the clock were the last scores the Irish registered as the Ukrainian side took complete control of proceedings and ran out comfortable 21-7 winners in the end.
Ireland face hosts Andorra in their second group game at 3.10pm.
IRELAND: Stephen James (2), Paul Freeman (2), Sean Flood (2), Jaosn Killeen (1)
Ireland Senior Men's 3x3 team 2017:
Jason Killeen (Templeogue)
Stephen James (Templeogue)
Paul Freeman (SSE Airtricity Moycullen)
Sean Flood (Santa Fe Community College)
More from all of the other games in the tournament on www.basketballireland.ie
