By Sports Reporter/Doha
Novi Sad Al Wahda’s World No 1 player Dusan Domovic says his team his aiming to extend their winning streak in FIBA 3x3 All Stars at Al Gharafa Sports Complex today.
“We’re back-to-back World Tour winners. We are confident of a good show tomorrow as we are focused and in the best shape,” Domovic, who led his team to a historic double of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour in October in Abu Dhabi, said.
Last year, Domovic arrived in Doha with a lot to prove after winning their first World Tour title in Tokyo. But lost to Ljubljana in the 2013 final and had to endure a painful crushing loss against Qatar in the final of the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championships, where he represented Serbia.
“Last year we had a lot of motivation because we had lost two big finals in a row against Ljubljana and Qatar,” the 20-year-old Serbian said.
Domovic also feels the biggest difference this time is our confidence level. “We won four straight matches, including two dominating victories against Team Doha in the pool phase and in the final. It was one of the most crucial win for our team as we proved we are capable of beating the world’s best,” he said.
Novi Sad Al Wahda, Saskatoon and Tokyo have been placed in the Pool A, while Doha, Ljublan Slovakia and wild-card entrant Montreal UQAM, winners of the FISU 3x3 World University League, the only new team in the fray, are in Pool B.
Asian No 1 player Yaseen Musa, who will lead Team Doha, said, “We have a good team and confident of winning the title tomorrow. We have played against most of the teams earlier and won against them.”
The hosts were off to a good start in 2015 and defeated Ljubljana twice, in the quarter-finals of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters and finished third and in the final of the Beijing Masters, 22-20 in overtime. Doha also defeated Novi Sad in the Abu Dhabi World Tour event. The other members of Doha team are Erfan Ali Saeed and Boney Watson.
The season-ending will also feature a thrilling dunk contest between the best from Europe and Americas and an exhibition match between Qatar Under-18 team and Team Philippines. Two former Philippines Basketball Association stars Johnny Abbarientos and Alvin Patrimonio will also face the stars of tomorrow Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng in a shoot-out contest.
Action begins at 4.30pm and final will be played at 9.50pm today.
