Thrilling moments of basketball 3×3
Despite fighting until the last minute, Bartlomiej Koziarek’s team lost to the Ukrainian women (16:19) in the first match of the 3×3 basketball tournament. The second match was at 8:45 pm featured Lithuanian women, who defeated Estonia 21:16. The final score of Belgium vs. Slovenia was 21:8.
From the beginning, Polish women, who played against Ukraine, were not at their best, and scored the first point of the game only in the third minute. There were simple mistakes, steps, timeouts of 12 seconds per action, and even a throw that did not reach the rim. The Ukrainian women were taller, stronger, and playing harder on defense – and although Poland was getting better as the match went on and tried really hard, they finally lost 16:19.
In the second meeting of the “Polish” group there was an unusual situation. With the Lithuanian women leading 19:12, a potentially winning shot from behind the arc was blocked by the TV camera boom. The referees decided that it was an “off-court throw” and awarded the ball to the Estonians. This did not change the balance of power on the playing field, and after a while the Lithuanian women triumphed.
Belgium won with Slovenia 21:8, but paid a high price. In the 56th second of the game Caspar Augustijnen tore the ligament in his knee (for the second time in his career) and ended his participation in the tournament. It proved to be fatal in the second, one of the best at the EG, meeting between the Belgians and Latvia. The Benelux basketball players had to play for 10 minutes in a three-man lineup. Despite their heroic performance, they lost 16:21.