Sakiai Gulbele take FIBA 3x3 World Tour event in Hong Kong

Sakiai Gulbele from Lithuania have won their first FIBA 3x3 World Tour event this season in Hong Kong, China after defeating Vienna 21-17 in the final on Sunday(27 November).

This is a second World Tour title for Sakiai, coming three years after their first triumph in Montreal.

Marijus Uzupis rose to the occasion in the final with 12 points and six rebounds to earn a place in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final in Abu Dhabi in two weeks' time.

The Hong Kong Masters also served as another opportunity for teams to earn points towards qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The final was not an easy one for the four Lithuanians - Uzupis, Paulius Beliavicius, Modestas Kumpys and Aurelijus Pukelis - despite being the first on the score sheet following a foul.

Beliavicius missed two two-point shots leaving them trailing the Austrians 7-9 in the fifth minute.

But Uzupis stepped up, amassing nine points in just five minutes as Sakiai took a 19-16 lead with less than two minutes to go.

A point from Kumpys and a free throw from Pukelis took the Lithuanians to the magic number of 21 with 53.9 seconds left on the clock, to secure a first Masters title this season.

Sakiai's Uzupis the highest scorer in Hong Kong

Uzupis, 29, also finished the tournament as the top scorer with 42 points, four more than Vienna’s Quincy Diggs while his compatriot Pukelis finished third on 34.

The Lithuanians, seeded seventh in Hong Kong, beat pre-event favourites Riga - featuring the four players from Latvia's Olympic gold medal-winning team at last year's Tokyo 2020 - by a comfortable 22-13 margin.

Riga had gone 27 games unbeaten and won Masters tournaments in Montreal, Cebu and Riyadh as well as the Super Quest in Neom, Saudi Arabia.

Sakiai then edged past Belgian side Antwerp 17-15 before accounting for Vienna in the final.

They have been on a hot streak since August, winning the Eaubonne Challenger in France and reaching the quarter-finals in four tournaments before winning their qualifying event for Hong Kong, the Capivari de Baixo Challenger in Brazil.

Selected results from the FIBA 3x3 World Tour event in Hong Kong.

Quarter-finals

Ub (SRB) 13 Antwerp (BEL) 16

Riga (LAT) 13 Sakiai (LTU) 22

Beijing (CHN) 17 Amsterdam (NED) 21

Vienna (AUT) 21 Ulaanbaatar (MNG) 11

Semi-finals

Antwerp (BEL) 15 Sakiai (LTU) 17

Amsterdam (NED) 15 Vienna(AUT) 21

Final

Sakiai (LTU) 21 Vienna (AUS) 17