Fiba 3x3 basketball Olympic qualifying: hosts Hong Kong out of running for Paris but hail ‘very good experiences’
- ‘3x3 is very challenging,’ Hong Kong’s Ricky Yang says, adding he is ‘open to try more’
- Home men’s and women’s teams exit competition as top four in each chase a first ticket to Paris on Sunday
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Hong Kong starting point guard Ricky Yang said he was tempted to explore more about the short version of the game after bowing out of 3x3 basketball’s Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The city’s men’s team lost to the Netherlands and Switzerland at Victoria Park on the second day of the tournament on Saturday to remain winless but that did not deter Yang as the Hongkonger said he was interested to play more 3x3.
“I am still exploring, it’s an Olympic event so I wanted to help out when called upon,” the 25-year-old said. “I would also like to see if this format suits my style of play.”
Having only started playing the short version of the game in an official capacity last month, when he donned the city’s jersey at the Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore, Yang said he is starting to learn how to play.
“I am feeling good so far [despite the lack of experience] because 3x3 is very challenging,” he said.
“I started to learn about the rules from the coaches, studied about them and watched my teammates practise, so these games are very good experiences for me.”
Hong Kong lost 17-11 to the Netherlands before suffering a 21-19 defeat by Switzerland, and while Yang acknowledged their differences from world-elite players, the newcomer was eager to carry on.
“We can probably offset our shortcomings in physicality with better execution of switching from defence to offence,” he said. “We have less experience and we are not as quick as our opponents, but I want to try my best and play as I can.”
But the Hong Kong Bulls guard admitted it was difficult for any players in Hong Kong to focus only on 3x3 basketball.
“I am interested because this is a much faster game, which is something I like,” said Yang, who played in his first-ever Chinese National Basketball League All-Star Weekend last summer. “The regular game remains my focus for now, but I am open to try more.
Can Hong Kong follow Mongolia’s route to the Olympics in 3x3 basketball?
“I am confident with my ability to drive to the basket. The more I can do it, my teammates will have easier chances to score, which also helps when we switch to defence after scoring.”
In the women’s tournament, the hosts fell to Poland 17-7 to conclude their journey at the Olympic qualifiers.
Upon the completion of the group stage, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Latvia reached the men’s semi-finals on Sunday, while Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan earned the chance to compete for the first available women’s ticket to Paris.
Azerbaijan claimed the women’s place by beating Poland 18-17 in overtime, before Latvia won the men’s with a 19-14 victory over Austria.
