3x3 Quest Tour heats up with NZNBL names seeking the title

A new team of Kiwi basketball stars has put their hand up as contenders for the World Tour Qualifier, part of the 3x3 Quest Tour. The second leg of the Open Mens grade has been won by a team called The Den featuring National Basketball League level players: former Tall Black BJ Anthony, Jaylen Gerrand, Marco Alexander, as well as experienced 3x3 player Patrich Bolstad.

All suited up to take out the North Shore event, powering past Team Briggs in the Final 20 to 9. But it wasnt all smooth sailing, which was quickly pointed out by Patrich Bolstad after the final whistle.

"All the games were generally really physical. It was tough right through to the finish. There were some talented players who showed up and we had to put in the work to come out on top with the result. Its been a tough day!"

Bolstad is well-known to the 3x3 scene, having competed in Russia and the Philippines. Bolstad said they knew victory wasnt guaranteed, especially when The Den suffered a scare in the pool rounds when they were beaten by team Flying Kiwis, who won 12 to 11.

The Flying Kiwis is made up of New Zealand 3x3 rep Rory Fannon, along with his team mates Karl Magon, Dominique Kelman-Poto, and Josiah Laracy. Their early victory over The Den had them marked as the dark horses of the day. They went undefeated in pool play, but were shocked by the youthful team Briggs in the Quarter Final.

Team Briggs, made up of new Drake University signing James Moors, 3x3 U18 player Thabo Manyere, plus Westlake Boys Reuben Fitzgerald and Scott Telfer, brought a youthful yet gritty competitiveness to the event. Briggs stunned Flying Kiwis in the Quarter Final, winning 11 to 8. They then rolled past West is Best 21 to 12 in the Semi-Final. But ultimately the experience and game-faced physicality of The Den was too strong for the young Briggs team.

The first weeks victors from the Tauranga leg, PM (Precision Movement), didnt manage the repeat. Karl Noyer, Ben Castle, James McLeod and Tom Allan battled through to Pool Play. Yet the knock out rounds saw PM sent packing in the quarter final when they were beaten by The Den, 18 to 11.

Its expected many of these teams will travel to a number of other legs of the Tour, as they fight for a qualification spot at the 3x3 Quest Tours World Masters Qualifier, which will be held at The Cloud in Auckland on 10 March 2018. The winners of that team will win a trip to Japan to compete in the FIBA World Tour Masters, where they will compete against some of the top 3x3 professional players in the world.

The next leg of the ten-stage tour will be on Saturday 20 January in Mangere, Auckland, at the Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre. Anyone can register to play in the 3x3 Quest Tour, with a range of grades to suit most players including under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open age-groups in both mens and womens categories. Go to http://nz.basketball/3x3-Quest-Tour for more information.

Players must register on play.fiba3x3.com, where they can enter events, track their results and compare their ranking to their friends and other 3x3 players internationally. Its essential that all players have an official play.fiba3x3.com profile when they play in the Tour. Creating a profile is easy and only takes about three minutes. Once youve created a play.fiba3x3.com account, respond to the confirmation email, register for an event, and youre ready to play.

Final Results of the North Shore leg of the 3x3 Quest Tour (week two):

Open Mens Winners - The Den:

- PATRICH BOLSTAD

- BJ ANTHONY

- JAYLEN GERRAND

- MARCO ALEXANDER

Open Mens Runner Up - Briggs:

- REUBEN FITZGERALD

- JAMES MOORS

- SCOTT TELFER

- THABO MANYERE

Junior Mixed Winners - Team BLiTZ:

- BOSTON CALDWELL

- LIAM SPENCER

- TAWHIAO KAITAPU

- ZEKE PRIEST

Senior Mixed - Serge I Block Ya:

- JAY MCINTYRE

- FADZAYI CHAMBATI

- JAMES SKINNER

U17 Male - Ham Salad:

- JOE WUTHRICH

- CATON SILBIGER

- FINN JAMES

- SAM CANTRELL

3X3 Quest Tour Schedule:

Date | Region | Venue

- Sat 9 Dec 2017 | Tauranga | Mount Maunganui Netball centre

- Sat 16 Dec 2017 | Auckland - Takapuna | North Shore Events Centre

- Sat 20 Jan 2018 | Auckland - Mangere | Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre

- Sun 28 Jan 2018 | Hamilton | Garden Place and Civic Square

- Sat 10 Feb 2018 | Wellington | Odlins Plaza

- Sat 17 Feb 2018 | Invercargill | Stadium Southland

- Sun 18 Feb 2018 | Dunedin | The Octagon

- Sat 24 Feb 2018 | Christchurch | Hagley Park Netball Courts

- Sat 3 Mar 2018 | Auckland - Henderson | Trusts Arena

- Sat 10 Mar 2018 | Auckland - CBD | The Cloud-

- This event will be both a normal 3x3 Quest Tour event, except for the Open Men's grade - only Open Mens grade teams that have qualified through previous tour events can play in the World Tour Qualifier Final at The Cloud on 10 March.

More information:

- www.basketball.org.nz/3X3

- play.fiba3x3.com

- Follow the event on Basketball New Zealands Social media accounts: @BasketballNZ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand