FISU University World Cup 3×3 Basketball: Mexican girls and Lithuanian boys put gold in their net

The women team of Monterrey (MEX) thrashed AUC from Egypt in a one-sided final at the FISU University World Cup 3×3 Basketball in Doha (QAT). And in the men competition, the top seeded team of Vytautas Magnus Uni (LTU) prevailed on a valiant Uni of Sydney (AUS) thanks to a powerful display.  

At the end of the competition, the feeling was that the true finals had occurred earlier in the tournament. For example, in the quarterfinals when in a remake of last year’s final, ITES Monterrey took their revenge (19-18) over the defending champion Chinese Culture Uni (TPE). That was an epic match which could have gone either way. The eventual gold medal of the Mexican squad was all the more remarkable that they lost their captain Deyna González (who broke her foot during the game) and had to finish the tournament with only three players.

But they remained in control against Precarpathian Uni (UKR) in the semi-finals (16-13) and had an easy ride (14-7) in the final against the Egyptian student-athletes from AUC who were the surprise guest at that stage but not equipped to trouble the Mexican fiesta.  

In the men tournament, the key moment occurred in the semifinals when the 2019 and 2022 champions from Paulista University (BRA) lost their crown to Vytautas Magnus Uni (LTU). The team of superstar and rebounding machine Gianluca Campaner could not find their connections and were overpowered by the Lithuanian aces (18-13). This was the highest-level game of the tournament.

In the final, the Baltic quartet which also composes the U23 national team of Lithuania was slightly disturbed by brave, daring and twirling Aussies, who maintained the parity during five minutes (10-10, picture above). But when Vytautas Magnus decided to press on the gas pedal the game was over in less than three minutes (21-12).      

The FISU University World Cup 3×3 Basketball, which had been staged in Xiamen (China) from 2015 to 2019 and in Istanbul last year, will now return to China in 2024.

The results at a glance

Men

Gold Final: Vytautas Magnus Uni (LTU – Celka, Mikstas, Lebskas, Zilius)-Uni of Sydney (AUS – Yoong, Wacher, Skelton, Smith) 21-12 

Bronze Final:  Sumy State (UKR – Kuzmin, Mykhailov, Filonenko, Koshevatskyi)-Paulista University (BRA – Campaner, dos Santos, Silva, Alves) 20-18 (OT)

Semifinals: Vytautas Magnus Uni-Paulista 18-13 ; Uni of Sydney-Sumy State 21-6

Women

Gold Final: Monterrey ITES (MEX – Esquer Vila, Rovira Treviño, González, Aguilera)-AUC (EGY – Ayman, Hassan, Hossam, Omar) 14-7 

Bronze Final: Precarpathian Uni (UKR – Kovtun, Kononuchenko, Lapkhan, Liashko)-Uni of Pitesti (ROU – Mititelu, Craciunescu, Nan, Popescu)  17-10

Semifinals: ITES Monterrey-Precarpathian 16-13 ; AUC-Uni of Pitesti 18-16 (OT)

(24 teams, 12 by gender).

Written by Olivier van Bogaert