New Zealand have taken out both the Men’s and Women’s divisions at the FIBA U-23 3x3 Nations League in Malaysia in dominating fashion.
The prize for New Zealand; is a coveted place at the 2024 FIBA U-23 3x3 World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from September 11-15, with both the Kiwi men’s and women’s teams set to compete for the title.
It is the fifth edition of the FIBA U-23 3x3 World Cup, with a previous NZ men’s team – featuring a young Taylor Britt and Taane Samuel in the squad - finishing 11th out of 20 teams at the 2019 edition.
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The New Zealand women’s team will be competing in this tournament for the first time.
Playing against the U-23 3x3 national teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in a six-team competition, the young Kiwi sides quickly established themselves as title favourites with a dominant day one.
The women’s team went a perfect 18-0 over six days, averaging 20.5 points per game while holding opponents to an average of just 8 points per game.
The squad made it to 21 points in all but three of their games, one of those a thrilling 15-13 overtime win against Singapore on day three.
The squad also set the tournament record for fastest win, a 21-2 defeat of Qatar that was over in just five minutes and seven seconds.
The squad was paced by the elite shooting of Maia Jones (7.1ppg), daughter of former Tall Black Phill Jones and Kate Herman with 6.6ppg, while Dominique Stephens averaged a solid 5.1ppg, Anika Hyland 4.3ppg and Maddy Timms with 1.9ppg.
Both Jones and Stephens were named to the Tall Ferns extended squad on Friday, in contention for their Tall Ferns debuts at next month’s FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers.
The NZ U-23 3x3 men’s team went 17-1 in their campaign, their sole loss coming against Qatar in the day two final.
The squad averaged 20.7 points per game while holding opponents to 12 points per game, making it to 21 points in 15 out of 17 of their games – their 18th game being a forfeit win against Saudi Arabia.
Showing his three-point shooting prowess, Josh Book – son of Tall Blacks centre Ed Book - led the tournament with 8ppg, with Campbell Scott equally as efficient from beyond the arc with his 5.9ppg.
Aidan Tonge (5.5ppg) did the majority of his damage from inside, while Daniel Dobson had 3ppg and Zach McKenzie 2.5ppg.
The men’s fastest win came in round three - a 21-7 win over Singapore that was over in 5:38 - while Campbell Scott set a tournament record with five outside shots in the team’s final group game at Stop 6; a 22-10 win over Indonesia.
New Zealand U23 3×3 National Team – Men’s
Josh Book
Daniel Dobson
Zach McKenzie
Campbell Scott
Aidan Tonge
U23 Men’s Head Coach – Piet Van Hasselt
New Zealand U23 3×3 National Team – Women’s
Kate Herman
Dominique Stephens
Anika Hyland
Maia Jones
Maddy Timms
U23 Women’s Head Coach – Kat Jones