After a three-way logjam at 3-1 in Pool B of the Men’s Division, Poland has kicked Estonia out of their group’s Top Two picture to advance to the FIBA 3X3 World Cup 2018 quarterfinals as the quotient system went in its favor.
This, even if Estonia had defeated Poland, 17-13, early in the day.
The Polish – who missed the 3X3 World Cup 2017 quarters as they finished with a 2-2 card – had the most points, with 76 across four games. Estonia, on the other hand, only scored 71, with their best win coming against Indonesia, 22-10.
Slovenia finish in first in Pool B with 81 points. The Slovenians are a familiar face in the playoffs, as they swept the group stages back in the 2017 tournament and bagged home the bronze medal against France.
Aside from Estonia, Japan (1-3) and Indonesia (0-4) will fly home in disappointment.
On the other side of the competition, European 3×3 champion Latvia made it known why it was crowned the continental kings in 2017, as it swept all four games of Pool D to sail smoothly towards the quarterfinals.
Finishing with 86 points across four games, the Latvians’ most impressive win came against Nigeria, 22-11.
Joining Latvia is 3×3 Europe Cup 2017 bronze medalists Ukraine with a 3-1 record. The Ukrainians are not new to the playoffs, as they swept last year’s group stage only to bow to France in the quarters.
After losing to the Latvians in their second game of Day One, the Ukrainians went on to win their last two assignments on Sunday in convincing fashion – first against Croatia, 22-11; and second versus Jordan, 21-14.
Croatia (2-2), Nigeria (1-3), and Jordan (0-4) are the Pool D teams booted out.
With Latvia’s might, it’s not surprising that the current top scorer of the men’s division is a Latvian: Katlis Lasmanis. The 24-year-old has overtaken Poland’s Michael Hicks, as he has 36 points across four games.
The last four teams that will complete the quarterfinal picture will emerge tomorrow, June 11, as pools A and C will see action.
