The FIBA 3×3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 (hereinafter referred to as UOQT2), where 3×3 basketball competes for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics, began on May 3rd. Light Cube Utsunomiya will be the stage for the event, and eight men’s and women’s teams will gather together, including Japan, who will be participating as the host country, as well as eight men’s and women’s teams that achieved good results in last year’s World Cup and regional cup competitions. The 2nd place and above in the preliminary pool will advance to the final tournament, and the winning team will get a ticket to Paris. We will follow the three days during which the champion will be decided.
The main players on DAY1 will be the men’s Netherlands and women’s Japan. Men’s Japan is also dynamic!
The world’s strongest teams performed in Utsunomiya. On the men’s side, World Cup 5th place Netherlands defeated AmeriCup champion Puerto Rico in qualifying Pool A and won the European showdown against Europe Cup runner-up Lithuania, securing a top 2 spot in the same pool. Puerto Rico and Lithuania, with one win each, will go head-to-head on Day 2.
In the Pool B qualifying round, Japan’s men’s team overwhelmed Asia Cup champion Mongolia, thrilling the home crowd. #6 Thomas Kennedy’s long range shot exploded, and #34 Keishiro Mitani, a 22-year-old who had just joined the national team, also made a series of good plays. #91 Tomoya Ochiai and #23 Ryuto Yasuoka, who have experience at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, also showed their presence and won easily. France, the host country of the Paris Olympics, also won one game and will play against Japan on Day 2.
On the other hand, in the women’s qualifying pool A, Japan took two wins with the support of their home fans, clinching a top 2 spot in the pool. Even though #1 Yuyu Emura, who scored 10 points in the first match, was injured, they achieved a victory over Austria and went on to play against Germany. It was a tough game as they lacked a scoring source, but #18 Kiho Miyashita, #21 Shizuka Takada, and #33 Tamami Nakata used their defense as their weapon to overcome the powerhouse team ranked 5th in the World Cup.
In Qualifying Pool B, AmeriCup champions Canada, who won last season’s FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series, a tour tournament to determine the women’s No. 1 in the world, defeated Kenya, who won the Africa Cup. The match between the Netherlands, the champions of the Europe Cup, and Australia, the Asia Cup champions, ended in overtime in favor of the Netherlands. The top four will appear on DAY2.
■Player’s voice
Men’s Japan #91 Tomoya Ochiai (ALPHAS.EXE/195cm)
“(Looking back at the match against Mongolia), we really did everything we wanted to do and got the knockout. I think we played the match with a perfect score of 100.”
(Mitani has been active. Has he been good since the training camp? What is your impression of him?) To be honest, there were some confusing scenes during the training camp. His preparation time after he was called up was the shortest. We played together (for the national team) when we were in high school, but this time there was a blank spot and there were parts that I was worried about.That’s why I told Mitani, “Enjoy the game,” and “You can take it as hard as you want, but think about your shot first.” ”, he really brought out his best and made a good layup in the beginning, which surprised me the most as I was on the bench. By continuing to do so, the Japanese national team will become even stronger. I look forward to seeing their growth.”
Men’s Netherlands #44 Arvin Slagter (192cm)
“(Looking back at the two tough matches), our qualifying pool was very strong and we knew it was going to be a tough match. So I think it was good that we won (against Brazil). My teammates were great. I think that allowed me to play well. Angel Matias, Leandro Allende, and Adrian Ocasio all played well today. They all played well as a result of teamwork.”
“(What do we need to do to get a ticket to Paris?) I think we need to show the performance we showed on the court today for the next two days. We communicated well, defended well, We rebounded really well. We’re sharing the ball offensively. If we play like we always do, we’re going to be tough for any team. We put ourselves in situations where we have the best chance to win. We have to keep putting it down.”
Men’s Puerto Rico #27 Antonio Ralat (191cm)
“(Looking back at the two tough matches), our qualifying pool was very strong and we knew it was going to be a tough match. So I think it was good that we won (against Brazil). My teammates were great. I think that allowed me to play well, and Angel Matias, Leandro Allende, and Adrian Ocasio all played well today. It was all a result of teamwork.”
“We know it will be a tough game (for the match against Lithuania on Day 2). We will take a good rest, watch film (match footage), and prepare for tomorrow. I will give everything to the match against Lithuania.”
Women’s Japan #18 Kiho Miyashita (Toyota Antelopes/178cm)
“In the first game (after winning the second game against Germany), Emura was injured, and I was worried about whether he would be okay, but the two older sisters (Takada and Nakata) ) encouraged me before the match and continued to make a great sound during the match, so I think that helped me not give up until the end.”
“(What is your game plan without Emura?) Emura scored two points in the first game, but I’m not good at two points, so I put my body on defense to make up for not being able to score points. In order to suppress the opponent’s big man in a three-man match, he shared time with Nakata and communicated with him, changing the matchup during the match and changing to the opponent’s core players while keeping up with his marks and maintaining his physical strength. was well controlled.”
Women’s Canada #2 Katherine Plouffe (192cm)
“(Looking back at the first match against Kenya) We had some issues on defense, but I think it was a good game with a good team offense. Kenya was strong with good ball movement. Our 2-point shots hit (we made five), and that helped us (win).”
“(On Canada’s good team chemistry) Our team has great chemistry, we encourage each other, we believe in each other and we take open shots every time. So in some games we step up and take a lot of shots. We have players, and in other games, different players will take shots.The players who play an active role change depending on the game, so I think it will be very difficult for the opponent to guard us.”
■DAY1 results
man
Pool A Lithuania 21 – 14 Brazil
Pool A Netherlands 21 – 16 Puerto Toli
Pool A Brazil 19 – 21 Puerto Toli
Pool A Lithuania 18 – 21 Netherlands
Pool B France 21 – 8 Egypt
Pool B Mongolia 12 – 22 Japan
girls
Pool A Germany 17 – 16 Brazil (overtime)
Pool A Japan 21 – 15 Austria
Pool A Brazil 21 – 11 Austria
Pool A Germany 13 – 12 Japan
Pool B Canada 19 – 12 Kenya
Pool B Netherlands 18 – 16 Australia (overtime)
■DAY2 schedule
man
15:50 Pool A Netherlands – Brazil
16:15 Pool A Puerto Toli – Lithuania
16:40 Pool B France – Mongolia
17:05 Pool B Egypt – Japan
20:10 Pool B Mongolia – Egypt
20:35 Pool B Japan – France
girls
15:00 Pool B Kenya – Australia
15:25 Pool B Canada – Netherlands
18:30 Pool B Netherlands – Kenya
18:55 Pool B Australia – Canada
19:20 Pool A Japan – Brazil
19:45 Pool A Austria – Germany
[UOQT2 3×3 Japan National Team]
man
#6 Kennedy Thomas (201cm/Ibaraki Robots)
#23 Ryuto Yasuoka (188cm/Akita Northern Happinets・ALPHAS.EXE)
#34 Keishiro Mitani (191cm/Hiroshima Dragonflies)
#91 Tomoya Ochiai (195cm/ALPHAS.EXE)
girls
#1 Yuyu Emura (160cm/Waseda University)
#18 Kiho Miyashita (178cm/Toyota Antelopes)
#21 Shizuka Takada (169cm/ENEOS Sunflowers)
#33 Tamami Nakata (182cm/ENEOS Sunflowers)
[UOQT2 event overview]
FIBA 3×3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2（UOQT2）
・Date and time: May 3, 2024 (Golden Day) ~ May 5 (Sunday)
・Location: Light Cube Utsunomiya (large hall), Miya Mirai Light Hill
・Details: Details: (Link is external link/FIBA 3×3)
・Click here for tickets, event information, etc.
>> (Link is external link/tournament official)
・Main broadcast schedule
BS Shochiku Tokyu (BS260ch/National free broadcast/Today’s tournament highlights)
5/3 (Fri), 4 (Sat) 23:30-24:30, 5/5 (Sun) 23:00-24:00
From Utsunomiya to Paris…3×3 Paris Olympics Qualifying UOQT2 Field Report
TEXT by Hiroyuki Ohashi
PHOTO by Kasim Ericson