Riga win thrilling 3X3 basketball final in Jeddah

Riga were the ones left standing among the deadly dozen as they won the FIBA 3X3 World Tour Jeddah Final 2020. (Supplied)

• Sports minister highlights Kingdom’s ability to host global sports events
• The tournament’s prizes totaled $ 250,000, with the winner getting $60,000, the second-placed team taking $40,000, and the third $28,000

JEDDAH: Riga were the ones left standing among the deadly dozen as they won the FIBA 3X3 World Tour Jeddah Final 2020.
The Latvians, who were seeded third, brought down top-seeded Liman of Serbia 21-20 in the final Saturday night with a pulsating buzzer-beater from Nauris Miezis, the Jeddah Final MVP.
Miezis’ basket from beyond the arc ended the hopes of the Serbians, who needed just a field goal to win the 9th edition of the FIBA 3X3 World Tour Final at the Jeddah Corniche court.
Riga thus repeated their mastery over Liman, whom they beat at the Doha Masters final last month.
The starting field of 12 teams were divided into four pools of three in the two-day tournament, which was cut to eight for the knockout rounds after Friday’s eliminations, with Riga, Liman, World Tour 2020 rookies Utena Uniclub (Lithuania) and 2019 World Tour winners Novi Sad of Serbia all advancing with a clean 2-0 record.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) organized the event in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Basketball Federation — with support of the Quality of Life program.
Abdulrahman Al-Massad, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Basketball Federation, and Ignacio Soriano, president of Events and Partnership 3x3 in the International Basketball Federation, crowned the winning team.
The tournament’s prizes totaled $ 250,000, with the winner getting $60,000, the second-placed team taking $40,000, and the third $28,000, in addition to cash prizes for those in fourth to sixth place.
Aseel Al-Omran, director general of the marketing department in the Quality of Life Program, presented the dunk competition award to Piotr Grabowski from Poland.
Sport Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal attended the final of the international competition, which was the second that Saudi Arabia has hosted since the pandemic outbreak in March after the historic back-to-back golf events last month, the Saudi Ladies Tour International and Saudi Ladies Team International sanctioned by Ladies European Tour.
Prince Abdul Aziz, who is also chair of the Saudi Olympic Committee, said the Kingdom plans to host some spectacular world-class club competitions.
“We are hosting many world championships despite the current circumstances,” he said. “We will all be delighted when things return to normal and the fans return to encourage their teams.”
The minister added: “We always try hard to cooperate with international federations as well as the Saudi Basketball Federation to bring what is best in the world. The 3 × 3 game is considered one of the fastest basketball games in development, interest and growth. We are keen to bring in all the tournaments that enjoy global popularity.”
Final team standings
Riga (Latvia) 2. Liman (Serbia) 3. Utena Uniclub (Lithuania) 4. Novi Sad (Serbia) 5. Jeddah (KSA) 6. NY Harlem (USA) 7. Ub (Serbia) 8. Amsterdam (Netherlands) 9. Sakiai Gulbele (Lithuania) 10. Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy (Mongolia) 11. Piran (Slovenia) 12. Lausanne Katapult (Switzerland)