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Australian Men And Women Win Gold At 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup

The Australian men and women have won gold at the 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.

The men’s team consisting of Tom Wright, Greg Hire, Lucas Walker and Tim Coenraad took care of business against Mongolia in the final 21-9, in what was a rematch of last year’s Asia Cup decider.

On the women’s side, the team of Bec Cole, Alice Kunek, Maddie Garrick and Hanna Zavecz were unstoppable all tournament, culminating in a 20-9 victory over Kazakhstan in the final.

Wright and Cole were named respective tournament MVP’s. The win cements Australia’s domination of Asia, with the women winning gold in 2017, bronze in 2018 and gold in 2019, while the men have won bronze in 2017, gold in 2018 and gold in 2019.

Battling Japan in the quarterfinal, the Aussie men were able to run away comprehensive 21-14 winners. Hire exerted his influence under the rim, while Coenraad caught fire from deep, as Australia made a statement with the strong victory.

In the semi-final, Australia not only had to face China, but the electric home crowd that comes with playing the host nation in a knockout game. After China kept the game tight for a period of time, Australia’s offensive firepower prevailed late, to enable them to secure a 21-15 win.

The women had a fight on their hands in the quarterfinal against the Philippines, but after a relatively slow start by their standards, were able to overpower their opposition to win 21-16.

Mongolia also gave Australia a scare in the semi-finals, with the scores being tied at 11 with three minutes left. However, Kunek then went into beast mode, allowing Australia to secure a 21-15 win.

Australia’s attention now turns to next month’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup, which is slated for June 18-23 in Amsterdam.

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