The Gangurrus secured third place in both the men’s and women’s draw of the inaugural Red Bull 3x3 Champions Cup, with both bronze medal games decided by the final shot.
On the Women’s side, Paris Olympian Anneli Maley led the Gangurrus to the finals after a tough opening loss to Spain (13-21).
They would bounce back on day two, defeating Thailand (22-19) and France (21-18) to finish second in group play.
In a heartbreaking affair they would come one game short of their gold medal aspirations. Losing to Canada in the semi-finals after a buzzer beating two pointer (16-18).
However, they rallied in the bronze medal game, edging out Germany (18-17) thanks to a late hook shot from Hannah Hank to close the game.
Hank (21 points) and Maley (35 rebounds – tournament leading) anchored the defence throughout the tournament, with Miela Sowah [Goodchild] (32 points – tournament leading) and Isabelle Bourne (22 points) showing their offensive prowess.
On top of leading the competition in scoring, Sowah was named to the Team of the Tournament.
The Gangurru men also had a rocky start. Going down to France (13-17) but responded with a dominant win over Thailand (21-6) and a surprise victory over the United States (21-15) to make it to the semi-finals.
After a hard-fought overtime loss to world number one Serbia (19-20), they met the USA again in the bronze medal match.
Jonah Antonio’s early two’s and Dillon Stith’s strong play inside helped Australia to a dramatic victory (21-20), with Stith sealing the win with a free throw.
Stith (31 points) and Josh Davey (14 rebounds) built a strong core in the key, giving the athletic play of Higgins-Titsha (37 points, 7 blocks) and shooting of Antonio (22 points) the ability excel.
Like Sowah, Higgins-Titsha was named to the Team of the Tournament in his FIBA 3x3 debut.
The Gangurrus now turn their attention to the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore, where both teams aim to defend their gold medals.
