Kiwis better for 3x3 World Tour experience

Team Auckland believe theyll take plenty away from their experience at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Utsonomiya Masters in Japan despite being knocked out in the group stages.

The Kiwi side followed up their opening loss to Piran with a 21-12 defeat to Krakow in their final group match, which meant they finished outside the top two and missed a spot in the knockout stages of the event.

"Compared to the first game, we shook off a lot of the rust, got a lot of confidence back, started moving the ball around a bit more and a couple of shots started dropping," Aucklands Sherif Hassan said.

But while good results are always desired, experience is also valuable as teams put more effort into the 3x3 format with an eye on its inclusion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"Were definitely not used to that level of physicality that you wouldnt expect in a regular five-a-side basketball game.

"You could tell that a lot of the other teams had a lot of experience in this format, and its definitely given us a lot to work on and take away from this tournament.

"Its fantastic to see the money, support and community around it here, the whole city shuts down so its really great to experience an atmosphere like this."

Now Hassans seen the strength of the 3x3 format internationally, he wants it to be replicated back home in New Zealand too.

"Hopefully we can get that level of atmosphere and competition going [back in New Zealand].

"We want to come to these tournaments more prepared by bringing up the level of players in New Zealand so we can come out here and compete with these international teams."

Team Auckland Results:

Vs Piran - L 22-11

Vs Krakow - L 21-12

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