CEBU CITY – Miami finally broke through in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour 2023 by winning the Chooks-to-Go Cebu Masters title following a dramatic 22-19 victory over Vienna in the Final, Sunday night at the SM Seaside City here.
Jimmer Fredette was the hero the Americans needed to fend off the Austrian side, nailing the open two-pointer with 47.4 seconds left to play to call game on the way to bagging home their first-ever Masters gold this season.
The vaunted sharpshooter finished with a team-high nine points, including his side’s last four points to lift them from a 19-18 deficit with 1:27 to go.
He rightfully earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors for leading the way to success, where they also netted the USD 40,000 top prize.
“It’s something that we wanted to do this summer,” said Fredette as Miami also became the first US team to win a Masters title since Princeton in 2019.
Canyon Barry came through with eight points as he helped keep Miami in the thick of the fight after being down 14-10 approaching the last four minutes.
Kareem Maddox made four points. Dylan Travis only scored one, but came through with the most important stop of the night — he stole the ball away from Quincy Diggs and then gave it to Fredette, leading to the title clincher.
Miami finished the Cebu Masters with a perfect 5-0 record. After sweeping Pool D, it eliminated Puerto Rican side San Juan in the quarterfinals before extending its mastery over Ub Huishan NE in the semis to reach the Last Dance.
Matthias Linortner led Vienna with nine points in the loss. Nico Kaltenbrunner backed him up with six points while Diggs made three.
Diggs actually started the game well but suffered an apparent leg injury as he landed awkwardly after giving his team an 8-7 lead with 6:29 remaining. He managed to play through it, but was visibly affected.
Meanwhile, Steve Sir and Rafael Lipinski starred in the skills showcase events by winning the Shootout Final and Dunk Contest, respectively.
Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy’s leader captured the two-point competition title with 14 points, nailing his last money ball to beat the 13 of Mac Tallo. Sir also bagged home the USD 4,000 top prize following the clutch performance.
Lipinski, on the other hand, won the slam dunk tiff by besting David Carlos in the finale. The latter still competed even after suffering a suspected ankle injury during his tie-breaking dunkoff against Dominic Gonzales.
The Scores:
Miami (22) – Fredette 9, Barry 8, Maddox 4, Travis 1.
Vienna (19) – Linortner 9, Kaltenbrunner 6, Diggs 3, Murati 1.
