Karl Noyer starts 3x3 Quest Tour on top and eyes FIBA World Masters

The emerging Godfather of New Zealand 3x3 has won the first 3x3 Quest Tour event in Tauranga and now looks to repeat that victory this weekend at North Shore Events Centre.

Last Saturday Karl Noyer helped steady his team to win a tightly fought final alongside his teammates David Clarke, Tom Allan and Zac Easthope. Named Precision Movement, his team managed to stay ahead by one point as the clock cemented the result, beating Team LDC 11 points to 10.

"It was just great to be back out there. Last weekend was our first week back and we had a really tough pool, but we managed to win all our games including a couple of really close ones. The Final was too close for comfort. It was a low scoring battle that was only won by one point, but we managed to stay composed enough to get come away with the victory," said Noyer.

Well known to the Kiwi 3x3 Quest Tour, 29 year-old Noyer has been a winning member of the teams that won the 3x3 Quest Tour in 2015 and 2016, and the team that were runners up in the 2017 Grand Final earlier this year. He has played more New Zealand 3x3 Quest Tour events than any other player in the nation and has also represented New Zealand on multiple occasions including at the FIBA World Championships in Russia in 2015, China in 2016 and in France in 2017.

Noyer has returned to the 3x3 Quest Tour this year with experienced team mates, but he says theres a number of other familiar faces that will be strong rivals.

"Similar to previous years, we are happy to travel to different tour locations. I expect well run into a few stalwarts that regularly show up each year, so its competitive, especially as we are all familiar with each others strengths and weaknesses.

"Nick (Fee) and Hamish (Sheridan) are in the team we met in the Final on Saturday. Theyre good mates and we played together in the New Zealand 3x3 team that competed at the FIBA World Champs in China in 2016. So we know each other well enough to anticipate what players bring to the court. For example, we knew Nick is a great three-point shooter and Hamish is one of the best rebounders in the tour. So Zach marked Hamish as best he could, while we just had to keep an eye on Nick whos always a threat from the perimeter. We did enough to win, but its not easy against great players like them.

"The event seems to get stronger each year, which is great. That said, one of the things I love about the 3x3 Quest Tour is that everyday players are invited to play and can compete in a grade that suits them. The vibe is really welcoming and friendly - its great street ball."

Noyer played in seven of the 3x3 Quest Tour events in the 2016/2017 tour and his team will be looking to attend the majority of games this year.

"We plan to compete at most of the events this year that are based within a three hour drive from us in Auckland. Its great to get more games in as we now look to build on what we achieved in Tauranga. We have to work hard if we want to go all the way to Japan," says Noyer.

Japan is the destination for the FIBA World Tour Masters in 2018. The outright winner of the 3x3 Quest Tour, which will be decided at the World Tour Qualifier at The Cloud in Auckland on 10 March 2018, will qualify and win an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the FIBA World Tour Masters. Its an event that Noyer has experienced in 2015 and 2016.

"The World Tour Masters is extremely competitive. Professional players from all over the world play in it. By winning the right to compete through the 3x3 Quest Tour here in New Zealand, the winning players get a great opportunity to test themselves against some of the very best talent - these are players who are now doing everything they can to make the Olympics in Japan 2020 and have a lot to prove to Olympic selectors. And New Zealand players have that chance too - the chance to become Olympians."

Noyer will be on court with his Precision Movement team at the North Shore Events Centre this coming Saturday, which is the second stop on the ten-stop 2017/2018 3x3 Quest Tour around New Zealand.

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 Tauranga leg of the 3x3 Quest Tour:

Open Mens Winners - Precision Movement:

- KARL NOYER

- DAVID CLARKE

- TOM ALLAN

- ZAC EASTHOPE

Open Mens Runner Up - LDC:

- PHILIP BOROTA

- HAMISH SHERIDAN

- NICK FEE

- TE RERENGA WETERE

Junior Mixed Winners - Puha Posse:

- SALEM BROUGHTON

- RICO NELSON

- TREVEL GARDINER-HANO

- HAAMIORA JOSEPH

Senior Mixed - Brick layers:

- CORBAN PAEWAI

- DEACON GOUGH

- MARLEY MURPHY

- TAYLAH TE AMO

U19 Male - BigDozzaGang:

- KEES GROOTJANS

- CZAR MONTECILLO

- QUINN WILLIAMS

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

- https://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