Teams from Toronto & Hamilton Represented Ontario in Canada Quest Finals in Edmonton
Men’s 3×3 teams from across the nation converged at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta for the 3×3 Canada Quest Finals on July 8 and 9 to vie for two spots in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour. Two teams from Ontario represented the province as Team Toronto and Team Hamilton took the court.
Team Toronto began the group phase of the tournament with a disappointing loss against the eventual tournament champions, Team Montreal. Despite the early loss, Toronto bounced back with wins against Team Winnipeg and Team Hamilton in order to secure a quarter-final match up against Team Vancouver. The quarter-final would prove to be a nail-biter as Toronto was eliminated in a thrilling game with a final score of 20-19 in favour of Vancouver.
Team Hamilton began their group phase with an 18-17 win over Winnipeg. After the close victory, Hamilton went on to drop their next two games in the group phase, losing to Montreal and Toronto. They bounced back when it mattered, though, as they won their quarter-final match against the hosts, Team Edmonton. In their semi-final rematch against Montreal, Hamilton was eliminated in a 21-12 loss. The defeat placed Hamilton in the bronze medal game against Vancouver. They would go on to win the game 21-18, finishing the tournament in third place.
Last year, Hamilton won the 3×3 Canada Quest East Finals, qualifying the team to compete at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour in Mexico City.
“We appreciated the opportunity to compete in both the FIBA 3×3 World Tour last year and to test ourselves against the best 3×3 teams in Canada this year at the Canada Quest Finals,” commented Sean Van Koughnett, Team Hamilton captain. “The games in both tournaments were fast-paced and very physical. Because 3×3 games are only 10 minutes long, if one team gets hot, the game can be over quite quickly. Last year in Mexico City we defeated Denver, the defending tournament champions, to make it out of our pool, and this year we beat Vancouver in the bronze medal game—both times because we hit our three-pointers. With the rise of basketball in Ontario and Canada and with 3×3 being selected as an Olympic sport in 2020, I think the game is poised to take off in this country.”
The finals featured Team Montreal and Team Winnipeg, after Winnipeg upset the experienced and highly favoured Team Saskatoon, 21-11. Montreal would go on to defeat Winnipeg 18-14, with a final tournament record of 6-0. Both Montreal and Winnipeg secured the two available spots in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.
Despite being upset in the quarter-finals, Saskatoon will still compete in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour as the team automatically qualified with their top-10 FIBA 3×3 ranking.
This year was the first time in which the Canada Quest Finals was a National Championship, rather than two finals divided between the eastern and western parts of the country.
“The first national Canada Quest Final was an outstanding success. The West Edmonton Mall not only provided a fantastic backdrop for the event but was also an amazing partner to work with alongside Basketball Alberta. Hundreds of people, most of whom were experiencing 3×3 for the first time, packed in around the court on two levels for every game of the tournament and were treated to an extremely high level of 3×3 basketball,” said Bryan Crawford, Senior Director of Operations at Canada Basketball.
For more information about the 3×3 Canada Quest Finals and for the full results, visit the Canada Basketball website.