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MONGOLIA has been the acknowledged Asian energy within the Worldwide Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3×3 basketball for the previous two years however its lofty popularity is underneath risk.
Ranked No. 4 on this planet and No. 1 in Asia, Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar crew sits at eighth spot within the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.
However a number of nations are after Mongolia’s scalp and one among them is the Philippines with Cebu Chooks! securing No. 25 on this planet rating. The opposite is Japan which has seen two of its groups carry out creditably within the World Tour.
Japanese groups Utsunomiya Brex and the Saitama Alphas will see motion within the Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3×3 World Tour Cebu Masters set this Saturday and Sunday 2 on the SM Seaside Metropolis Cebu.
The Utsunomiya Brex is the highest-ranked Japanese crew on this planet at No. 28. Within the opener of the World Tour, the Masters dropped shut selections to Liman of Serbia, ranked No. 2 on this planet, and to Sakiai of Lithuania, No. 6 on this planet.
Utsunomiya completed ninth within the event.
The crew additionally completed ninth within the Ulaanbaatar Challenger and set their finest performances within the 3×3 tour through the Vitality Sukhbaatar Challenger the place they completed fifth and within the Penang Challenger the place they landed at sixth place.
The Utsunomiya Brex is bannered by Japanese veterans 6-foot-1 Yosuke Saito, the second highest ranked Japanese on this planet at 166th, and 6-foot-2 Yasui Iijima.
They’re complemented by a duo of excellent Serbian reinforcements—6-foot-4 Dusan Popovic (No. 117 on this planet) and namesake 6-foot-4 Dusan Samardzic (No. 107 on this planet). Samardzic was the star of the Serbian nationwide crew that positioned third within the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup.
The Saitama Alphas, however, are returning to the Philippines two weeks after reigning supreme within the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Worldwide Quest held final September 16 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The Alphas have been energetic within the FIBA 3×3 tour and are difficult Utsunomiya Brex’s declare as Japan’s high crew.
Within the Penang Challenger, Saitama made all of it the best way to the quarterfinals regardless of having simply three gamers on the roster and going by means of the qualifying draw. The Alphas earned a slot in the principle draw after defeating Penang of Malaysia and Lusail of Qatar.
In the principle draw, the Alphas pulled the upset rug from world No. 10 Lausanne of Switzerland, 22-20. Saitama ultimately positioned seventh within the competitors—increased than Cebu Chooks which completed eighth.
Saitama can be fielding the identical roster that gained the in Sta. Rosa led by Tomoya Ochia, who at 176th on this planet is the third highest ranked Japanese 3×3 participant.
Ochia is a long-time member of the Japan nationwide 3×3 crew and performed within the Tokyo Olympics, 2022 FIBA 3×3 World Cup and 2022 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.
Six-foot-six Serbian Marko Milakovic, who starred of their title conquest, and compatriot 6-foot-9 Teodor Atanasov, plus Japanese-Australian Ryo Ozawa full the Saitama squad that desires to indicate within the Cebu Masters that they’re the true Alphas of three×3 basketball.
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