After going winless in the group stages of last year’s edition, China showed dominance and swept the group stages to advance to the FIBA 3X3 World Cup 2018 quarterfinals, Sunday at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
The Chinese emphatically made their entry by dismantling Argentina, 22-4. That victory was their best win in Pool B, as their wins over France, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan only had an average margin of 1.6 points.
France is the other team from Pool B that will head into the next round after finishing with a 3-1 record. The French booked their ticket by defeating the Swiss, 21-16, in a match considered a playoff already as they both had 2-1 cards prior.
The French, just like the Chinese, missed out on last year’s edition as they ended the group stages with a 2-2 card.
Switzerland (2-2), Argentina (1-3), and Kazakhstan (0-4) will head home empty-handed. The Swiss quartet’s performance was far their campaign the 2017 edition, when they swept all four games in the pool stages.
Meanwhile, Spain and Hungary are Pool D’s quarterfinalists.
The Spaniards were already qualified to the next round when they overcame the hot-shooting Janine Pontejos and the Perlas Pilipinas 3×3, 21-17. Their victory gave them their third straight win and a clean 3-0 slate.
Spain also made it in last year’s tilt but lost to Netherlands in the quarters.
The Hungarians, on the other hand, formalized their entry into the next round by letting experience boost their play, coming back from a four-point deficit to defeat Perlas, 18-15, and sending the Philippines to a winless campaign.
Hungary finished the group stage with a 3-1 record, similar to their Spanish counterparts. The number one team of Pool D is Spain as per the quotient system, as they finished with 69 points — a point better then Hungary.
Those out from Pool D are Netherlands (3-1, 64 points), Germany (1-3), and the Philippines (0-4).
Marielle Giroud of Switzerland remains the top scorer of the women’s division with 35 points. But Pontejos gave the Philippines something to be proud about, as she finished the stage as the third-best scorer with 27 points.
Four more teams for the next stage will be determined tomorrow, June 11, as pools A and C will see action.
