Ireland coach believes 'anything is possible' at FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup

Ireland 3x3 MNT head coach Darren McGovern believes “anything is possible” as his side prepare to face the current World and European champions at the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Latvia and Lithuania are the opposition for Ireland in the pool stage of this year’s tournament, which is the European Championship for 3x3 basketball.

 “Training camp has been good so far. The conditions here are excellent,” said McGovern, who’s charges are just one of 12 teams to qualify for the tournament in Antwerp, Belgium.  “We have answered some questions of ourselves in terms of preparation and how we want to impose ourselves against the best in the world. The players have been together at many events this summer, so that continuity is a good thing for us.”

McGovern’s side punched their ticket by winning a qualifying event in Kosovo earlier this summer, making it back-to-back appearances alongside Europe’s elite. The quartet of Jordan Blount, Ryan Leonard, Matt Treacy and Lucien Christofis dismantled a familiar qualification foe, Cyprus, 21-13 in the final on that occasion.

Blount, Leonard and Treacy have spent the majority of the intervening period sustaining their rhythm at a number of FIBA 3x3 Pro events as part of the newly establish Dublin 3x3 team, a factor that McGovern acknowledges can only be a good thing for the national team. 

“We can't say they are always on the same page, but partnerships in the two-man game are developing. More time together in practice sessions in camp has helped forge these relationships. 100% players competing together in more tournaments is only a good thing for us as a national team,” he added.

Performances over the last two years have seen Ireland jump to 54^th in the FIBA World Rankings and into the 25^th in Europe, with an upset against either of their pool stage opponents, who are ranked 4^th (Lithuania) and 8^th (Latvia) in the World, would see them catapult even higher.

Estonia are the only team ranked below Ireland who’ve managed to qualify for the star-studded field that includes Serbia (1^st), Netherlands (3^rd), Germany (5^th), France (6^th), Spain (7th), Belgium (11^th), Switzerland (16^th) and Italy (23^rd). Teams are separated into four pools of three, with the top two from each making the knockout bracket.

It was a pool stage exit for Jordan (Blount), Matt (Treacy), John Carroll and Sean Jenkins in Copenhagen a year ago, but Darren McGovern is expecting his players to take plenty from that experience ahead of Saturday’s opener against Latvia.

“Latvia’s success at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup means two of their players have now won everything there is to offer on the national team stage. That is the level and the experience we’re up against,” said McGovern of their first opponents.

“How do we get a result? For us right now there’s two points of focus. Can we stay attached on defensive situations and force longer more contested shots and secondly, can we react on our transitions to create separation to get advantages. This way we can operate 2v1s and create better opportunities.”

“We have the desire, we have the guys in a good mindset and we believe anything is possible in the 3x3 format.”

All of Ireland’s games will be available to watch on FIBA’s YouTube Channel, with the link available on the Basketball Ireland homepage. 

Ireland squad:

Matt Treacy, Jordan Blount, Lucien Christofis, Ryan Leonard

FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup Finals:

Saturday, 12th September

Men  Pool C: Latvia v Ireland, Tip-off: 12.55 Irish Time (LIVE on FIBA YouTube)

Men  Pool C: Lithuania v Ireland, Tip-off: 15.00 Irish Time (LIVE on FIBA YouTube) 

What is FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup? 

The FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup is the European Championships of basketball's 3x3 format. It brings together 12 teams who qualify for the tournament either through their FIBA World Ranking or through qualifying events throughout the year. 

This will be the 11th edition of the competition, taking place in Antwerp, Belgium from Friday, September 11th to Sunday, September 13th.  

If you are new to 3x3 basketball it's a fast-paced game played on a half-court, three players per team, with a 12 second-shot clock for 10 minutes. The winning team is the first to 21-points or the team with the most points when the 10 minute period is up.  

Teams are split into four groups of three for two round robin games, with the top two in each group progressing to the quarter-final stage. 

You can find the competition portal here.