After two days, 14 teams, 22 games and almost 600 exhilarating points, it all came down to one: Serbia’s Team Riga were crowned champions of The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Masters 2021.
3x3 basketball fans from all over the UAE came to witness the final day of basketball brilliance, as the eight teams (Ub, Princeton, Ulaanbaatar, Riga, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Gagarin and Liman) took to the court on the Abu Dhabi Corniche to compete in the Quarter Finals.
The stadium was once again fizzing with friends and families of all ages, as the Quarter Finals concluded with an iconic Corniche sun set; it was teams Ub, Liman, Riga and Antwerp to reach the semis.
Before the competition clawed its way to the final, the crowd was treated to some more world-class entertainment, with acrobatic dunks from Face Team dunkers and world-champion BMXers. And if that wasn’t enough, an incredible Dunk Contest saw audience-favourite “Air” David Carlos walk away with not only the bragging rights, but a cool US $3000.
However, it was quicker than a Carlos dunk that the Final came around: Serbia’s Team Ub and Latvia’s Team Riga – the latter being the current Olympic champions. The tension on court was at fever pitch, with an impressive 5 Olympic winning medallists making up part pf the field. But who was walking away with the win this time?
Team Riga! The Serbians stormed to victory, hitting the required 21 points before the buzzer sounded. Riga’s Agnis Čavars, evidently exhausted after the battle, took time to enjoy the win, saying: “It was so great to have this squad back together. We had to work hard to get here as we’ve had several injuries, but today’s win feels great.
“The atmosphere here in Abu Dhabi has been so so good,” Čavars continued. “It’s like being at home so thanks to everyone who came out to wach us.”
Riga’s Karlis Lasmanis was also awarded the tournament’s MVP, on the 10th anniversary of FIBA 3x3.
As the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi 2021 edition concludes, the team will go head-to-head once again in Mexico next week, ahead of a final showdown in Jeddah in December.
