Qualifying draw begins. Continuing from
the article on the 1st, “‘First Overseas Business Trip’ 3×3 Travel Guide to Singapore, Part 1” .
#D-day, “Team Korea”
Second morning in Singapore. At 10:00 in the morning, I met Kang Yang-hyun, the head coach of the men’s national team, in the hotel lobby and walked to the stadium together.
“It’s really like a foreign country.”
“Baegija, this is a foreign country.”
After walking for about 40 minutes, we arrived at OCBC Square, Singapore’s sports hub where the tournament was held. There was a ceiling above the arena installed outdoors. An environment with shade but with a true feel for the local weather. In the building connected to the stadium, there were complex facilities where you could enjoy cafes, restaurants, and shopping.
I found the press center, received an ID card, and was guided. Meals and snacks were prepared in the center. You can also watch the game live on the big screen. I only applied for coverage of national team games, so when there were no games, I organized photos and wrote articles here.
1:05 p.m. Time for the first match of the men’s national team. The national team visited the venue an hour ago and warmed up on the OCBC Arena warm-up court where they warmed up the day before. A different look from yesterday. Local volunteers help organize the event.
The national team moves from the arena to the square 15 minutes before the match. Where the men’s and women’s national teams are moving, local fans as well as volunteers asked for photos. I could feel the popularity of Team Korea.
A Korean fan (requiring anonymity) who followed Singapore from Korea said, “I talked to local fans who support the national team, and they like Korean dramas, movies, and entertainment, and our culture. Of course, Heo Hoon’s power is absolute, but in common A lot of local people who like K-culture heard about the national team’s visit and visited this place a lot.”
The first match against Turkmenistan started. As if the tournament was held in Korea, the voices cheering for the national team were loud. Cheers resounded at every goal scored by the national team. The face of the national team that won the first game showed a relaxed look.
The women’s national team also prepared Kazakhstan at 3:30 pm and New Caledonia at 8:10 pm. After passing Kazakhstan in their first game, the national team went back to their lodgings and took a break. The women’s national team also knew the importance of the first match, and seemed to relax as the match went on.
In that way, the first day of the tournament ended with a win to the last game in New Caledonia.
#Oceania, is it over?
The 15th place men’s national team (coach Kang Yang-hyun) ranked 15th, as did Turkmenistan (18th), New Zealand (9th), and Tonga (23rd). , Australia (11th) is in Group B of the Qualifying Draw. Only the first place in the group advances to the main draw.
Men’s New Zealand 2022 Asian Cup runner-up. Women’s Australia 2022 Asia Cup runner-up. Last year, the two countries in Oceania put their physicality at the forefront and achieved good results in the Asia Cup. Again, the two countries are strong contenders for the championship.
However, the two countries start the tournament from the qualifying draw rather than the main draw due to the low 3×3 points. The national team met the two teams in the qualifying draw. In fact, in order to get to the main draw, I had to go over two teams.
On the 30th, at 1:05 pm, the men’s national team played against New Zealand first.
New Zealand is formidable with the strength and height of Ty Winyard (209cm) and Dominic Kellman-Poto (202cm). As a 3×3 player, he has a lot of experience. Richard Rogers (189cm) and Christopher McIntosh (183cm) in the front line cannot be easily ignored either. Both players are professional players in their home leagues, and Roger is a 5-5 national team.
The attack time limit for 3×3 basketball is 12 seconds. Therefore, the national team tried to make the opponent chase the attacking time with strong pressure and a lot of movement from the front line and try a shot with a low probability. However, the limits of reality were unavoidable.
Let’s see the preparation process for the competition.
The hastily convened national team prepared for the tournament in about two weeks. Kim Nak-hyun has 3×3 experience at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, but it’s already a long time ago. And 3×3 has developed further, so it is different from then and now메이저사이트. Players who play completely different basketballs had to get used to the new rules and a ball smaller than 5:5 rather than practice like the real game.
In fact, male players said, “It’s uncomfortable because the ball is small. It feels like playing basketball with a small ball that children play with.”
The national team, which prepared such a completely different basketball, collapsed helplessly at the height and strength of New Zealand Wynyard and Kelman-Porter. New Zealand defeated the national team 21-13 with both players posting 9 points each.
Regardless of the remaining games, it became difficult to advance to the main draw. After the game, the national team we met in the mix zone said, “I felt a physical difference. I feel regretful about what it would have been like if I had done more 3×3. I’m sorry to the fans who came to support me from local and far . “
After the game, the New Zealand national team greeted briefly, saying, “It was a fun game. If there is a chance, I want to play again next time.”
Two hours later, the women’s national team also visited OCBC Square to prepare for the final match of the qualifying draw, against Australia at 3:30 pm. The women’s Australian team beat New Caledonia 21-0 and Kazakhstan 21-2 the day before. 3×3 is a 10-minute game, but if you score 21 points first, the game ends regardless of time. As the score suggests, Australia ended the game early in two consecutive matches.
The game finally started. The Australian team was relaxed. The national team gritted their teeth and ran and collided. But Australia’s walls didn’t come down. In the end, the match ended with Australia winning 17-5. After the game, the faces of the national team that we met were full of regret.
“It was a good experience. It was a time to grow one step further.”
Despite losing to Australia, the women’s team had a chance of advancing to the main draw by chance. Qatar’s withdrawal left one spot in the main draw.
According to FIBA 3×3 rules, in this situation, the team with the highest win rate among the second place in the qualifying draw group advances. The women’s national team, which recorded 2 wins and 1 loss, watched the situation of India, which ranked second in Group A with a win rate of 66%.
India, which was second in the group after New Zealand, advanced to the main draw with a 75% win rate of 3 wins and 1 loss while catching Hong Kong, Syria and Tahiti. As nine teams participated in the qualifying draw, and were divided into 5 teams in Group A and 4 teams in Group B, the national team was unfortunately pushed back by the winning rate.
An official from the Korea Basketball Association, who led the team at the scene, said, “The number of games is different, but the FIBA 3×3 rules say that the second place in the group with the highest win rate goes up. There are similar cases.”
“Russia could not participate in the tournament due to the Russia-Ukraine war in Europe. Unlike the Asian Cup, in Europe, the region where the qualifying draw was played was different for each group, so it was difficult to compete with the second place. Even at that time, the second place with a high win rate was the main It is said that he went up to the draw,” he explained the situation.