Doha, Qatar: Turkmenistan narrowly edged out Qatar by a single point to claim the top spot in the points tally during the third leg of the 2023 FIBA 3×3 U-23 Nations League – Doha (West Asia).
The result made the race for the coveted spot in the final stage of the Nations League wide open.
The team that scores the highest number of points in Doha will emerge as the winner of the conference and secure their ticket to the final stage, which will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from September 13-15.
The Qatar U-23 team, consisting of Mohammed Hashim “Hash Jr” Abbasher, Mubarak Jama, Ahmad Saeid Mohamad, and Omar Mohamed Saad, won the first stop on the opening day of the series at Al Gharafa Indoor Courts on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia secured the top position in Stop 2. In yesterday’s matches, Qatar finished in second place with 60 points, only one point behind Turkmenistan.
Saudi Arabia ended up in fourth place, trailing Jordan in the men’s competition.
The host team achieved victory over Jordan for the third consecutive time, this time with a scoreline of 21-13, and then defeated Saudi Arabia convincingly with a margin of 21-8. However, Turkmenistan emerged victorious against Qatar with a score of 21-18, following their three losses in Stop 2.
Yevgeniy Nazipov of Turkmenistan played a crucial role in their scoring spree during the third leg of the six-leg series, contributing 32 points, which accounted for half of his team’s total points scored on that day.
Hash Jr, who has been the main scorer for the home team throughout the series, added 26 points during the three games he played yesterday.
On the other hand, the Qatar women’s U-23 team, consisting of Sara Zayed Al Maadeed, Dana Elsayed, Mona Abdelmonem Elsayed, and Lamis Gamal Hanafi, secured their first win in the six-leg series by outsmarting Saudi Arabia with a score of 14-12 in overtime.
However, the Qatar women’s team suffered defeats against Jordan (9-21) and Turkmenistan (11-18), ultimately finishing in third place in Stop 3.
The remaining stops of the series will take place at the same venue from June 24-26.
Source : ThePeninsula
