The reign continues.
Serbia’s reign as the best 3×3 federation in the world has extended to three years, as the cagers from the Balkan region defeated Netherlands yet again, 16-13, in the FIBA 3X3 World Cup 2018 Final, Monday at the Philippine Arena.
The Serbians have been familiar with their Dutch counterparts for some time now. The two European squads have faced each other in the 2017 edition’s finals held in France, and that bout went in favor of Serbia, 21-18.
Serbia has now won their fourth gold medal in five 3×3 World Cups.
Unlike last year’s encounter, this final was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair. But the Serbians simply had more experience under their belts, and that played a huge part in the game’s closing moments.
From an 11-all deadlock with just 1:29 remaining in the bout, the trio of Stefan Stojacic, Marko Savic, and Dusan Bulut joined forces and scored Serbia’s final five points to pull away from the Dutch’s clutches for good.
Bulut led Serbia with seven points. Stojacic had four, while Savic made three.
The Scores:
SRB 16 — Bulut 7, Stojacic 4, Savic 3, Majstorovic 2.
NED 13 — Jobse 6, Van Vilsteren 4, Van der Horst 3, Roije 0.
