Estonian champions in 3x3 basketball declared on Saturday
On Saturday, the final stage of the Estonian championships in 3x3 basketball was held, with second-place Estonian team Lennujalad gaining access to the FIBA World Tour, held in Hungary on August 29-30.
The final day of the tournament saw a total of 64 teams in different age classes compete at Snelli Stadium with the final matches held at the brand new Alexela Arena.
The men's elite class saw team Linnujalad winner had to admit 13:21 defeat to the Latvian national team in the final, but since the Latvians are already cleared for the FIBA World Tour, Linnujalad will also head to Debrecen, Hungary, to represent Estonia.
Linnujalad consists of professional basketball players Martin Dorbek, Jaan Puidet, Oliver Metsalu and Riho Suija.
Puidet said after the final: "They are practicing every day, working out together and their chemistry is better for it. That is hard to compete against. They've played this format for a long time and we could notice that they were very physical. If you do something every day, you become good at it."
National team and BC Kalev/Cramo guard Martin Dorbek agreed the Latvians long-time co-operation was the difference: "Today was very difficult, it was very hot. The hardest tournament that we've had so far."
Estonia Blue was crowned Estonian champions in the women's class, defeating last year's European third-place Latvia 18:12 in the final.
Estonia Blue is the women's national 3x3 basketball team, consisting of Annika Köster, Jane Svilberg, Merike Anderson and Sofia Kosareva.
The first stage of the FIBA World Tour will be held in Debrecen, Hungary on August 29-30.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste