BASKETBALL – Bahrain representatives Riffa secured a solid third-place finish yesterday in the Sansar Challenger, played in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The meeting was part of the 2025 Fiba 3x3 World Tour – the premier street basketball series under the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), which holds events around the world with participating teams representing cities.
Riffa made it through to the competition’s semi-finals but lost to eventual winners Partizan from Serbia 14-21.
They were thus ranked third overall on the final standings, based on their points total in the 12-team event.
Their classification earned them a spot, along with Partizan and tournament runners-up Miami from the US, in the higher-tier Shanghai Masters in China, scheduled for September 27 and 28 on this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
Riffa also came away with $11,000 in prize money.
Ranked fourth through 12th, respectively, were Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy from Mongolia, Liman from Serbia, Barcelona from Spain, Marijampole Mantinga from Lithuania, Carolina from Puerto Rico, Bayankhairhan MIG from Mongolia, Seef from Bahrain, and Zavkhan and Kharkhorum, both from Mongolia.
Riffa competed in the Sansar Challenger with the quartet of Belgian nationals Dennis Donkor, Jonas Foerts, and Vic van Oosterwyck, along with Serbian Milos Antic.
They began yesterday’s action on the second and concluding day of play with a hard-earned 21-18 victory over Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Riffa led early and back-to-back two-pointers from Donkor and Foerts gave them a 7-3 advantage.
They continued to stay ahead and another Foerts basket from long range made it 12-9. The Spaniards battled back and took a narrow 14-13 lead on a basket by Ferran Llorens.
Teammate Guim Exposito later made it 17-16, but then Riffa finally took control for good, with three straight points from Foerts and Antic giving them a 19-17 edge.
After Jaume Zanca got Barcelona back to within one, Donkor sealed the win from beyond the arc, hitting the 21-point target with only nine seconds left on the clock.
Donkor and Foerts had eight points apiece for Riffa, while Antic scored three and van Oosterwyck had two. Exposito led Barcelona with six points.
In their semi-final against Partizan, Riffa led early but the Serbians rallied for an 11-8 lead. After a Foerts two-pointer tied it at 11-apiece, Partizan went on a game-changing 6-1 run, and Riffa never recovered.
Long-range shots by Stefan Milivojevic and Stefan Torbica then secured Partizan’s triumph and place in the final with more than two-and-a-half minutes still left on the clock.
Donkor paced Riffa with five points in the loss, while Foerts had four, Antic three, and van Oosterwyck two. Milivojevic led the Serbians with nine and Torbica had seven.
This year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour will head to Bahrain for its grand season-finale, scheduled for November 21 and 22.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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