FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final Jeddah 2023: Serbia's Ub Huishan wins back-to-back titles
Ub Huishan overcame a late-season winless slump to reign supreme in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where they went unbeaten en route to their 21-15 victory over Amsterdam on Saturday (9 December).
Serbian outfit Ub Huishan affirmed their status as the top side in the world beating Amsterdam 21-15 to claim back-to-back FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final titles in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday (9 December).
Ub bowed out of the two-day season finale winning all five of their games in the Saudi tournament including a hard-fought battle against Antwerp in the semi-final.
Top-ranked, European and world champion Strahinja Stojacic along with Nenad Nerandzic played leading roles in their team’s triumph contributing six points apiece.
The Serbians made a statement of intent racing to a four-point lead before they opened more daylight going 11-4 up against the Dutch side. Amsterdam threw everything at Ub but the Serbians maintained their advantage thanks to a high scoring percentage.
Once Ub found their groove they would not allow Amsterdam a foot in the door with the Dutch never getting closer than five points until late in the game. Arvin Slagter landed a late two-point shot to get within four points (19-15) before Dejan Majstorovic responded with the decisive blow to hand his team the victory.
In what proved to be a good omen for the Serbian team, the talismanic Stojacic earned the MVP award for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2023 regular season on the eve of the final for the second consecutive time. Stojacic, or ‘Dr Strange’ as he is affectionately known, was worth his weight in gold in his team’s victory as Ub consolidated their position as the top side on the World Tour.
Ub laid the groundwork starting the season with a spectacular six-straight Masters title wins before they lost some steam as their campaign progressed.
