BASKETBALL – BAHRAIN representatives Riffa cruised last night into the quarter-finals of the Brasilia Challenger 2025, being played in Brazil as part of the Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
Riffa secured their spot in the elite eight after winning both their games in Pool C of the competition’s preliminary round. They first dominated against Diadema from Brazil 21-11 and then followed it up with a hard-earned 21-17 triumph over Lausanne of Switzerland.
Those results helped them secure first place in their division. They now await their opponents in the quarters, who will be the second-placed team from Pool A, which features Amsterdam Rabobank from the Netherlands, Marbella from Spain, and Uberlandia from Brazil.
The round of eight will be played today starting at 7pm, Bahrain time. The semi-finals and final will follow later in the night, with the championship contest scheduled for a 10.35pm start, also Bahrain.
Twelve teams from around the world are competing in the preliminaries. Pool B is composed of Raudondvaris Hoptrans of Lithuania, Barcelona from Spain, and Bahia Reals from Brazil; and Pool D includes Partizan from Serbia, London from the US, and Sao Paulo DC from Brazil.
The Brasilia Challenger 2025 acts as a qualifier for the higher-tier Shenzhen Masters, to be held in China on October 4 and 5, also as part of this year’s Fiba 3x3 World Tour.
The winners in Brazil will also come away with $20,000 in prize money, while the runners-up will pocket $15,000 and third place will get $11,000. Fourth and fifth will take home $8,000 and $6,000, respectively.
Riffa are competing in the tournament with a quartet of Belgians Dennis Donkor, Jonas Foerts, and Vic van Oosterwyck, along with Serbian Milos Antic.
In their opening assignment last night against Diadema, Riffa raced out to a comfortable 10-5 lead following a Donkor two-pointer, and they never looked back. Another Donkor basket from beyond the arc made it 15-8, and later three straight points from Foerts plus the clinching shot from Antic earned them the 21-point target with a minute and 41 seconds still on the clock.
Foerts paced the victors with nine points, while Donkor added five, Antic four, and van Oosterwyck had three.
In their following fixture against Lausanne, the Bahrainis took a 7-2 lead early on after a Donkor basket from the two-point line. Riffa continued to stay in front but the Swiss kept within striking distance, managing to close in at 12-13. But baskets by Donkor and van Oosterwyck helped keep Riffa afloat 18-14, and after a Donkor two-pointer put them on the brink of the win at 20-15, Foerts contributed the decisive basket.
Donkor was on fire in the contest with 12 points for Riffa, while van Oosterwyck scored four, Antic three, and Foerts two.
The Fiba 3x3 World Tour is the premier street basketball series under the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), which holds events around the world with participating teams representing cities.
Masters events are the top-tier level of competition. They have already taken place in Japan, China, the Netherlands, France, Austria, and Mongolia, Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland, and Hungary, with remaining events in China, Macau, and the UAE before heading to Bahrain.
The kingdom’s stop marks the 2025 season-finale, scheduled for November 21 and 22.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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