3 Aug 2018
BARI (FIBA 3x3 U18 Europe Cup 2018) - Bari (Italy) plays host to 1 of the 3 FIBA 3x3 U18 Europe Qualifiers on August 3-4, 2018.
18 teams from 14 countries will compete for 8 tickets to the fourth edition of the FIBA 3x3 U18 Europe Cup, which will be held in Debrecen, Hungary, on August 31- September 2.
In the men's category, the 10 teams are divided in 2 pools of 5 teams each. The pool winners qualify directly and the teams ranked 2nd and 3rd in their pool play a semi-final against the teams ranked 3rd and 2nd respectively in the other pool. The winners of these 2 semi-finals get the other 2 tickets to Debrecen.
Ukraine are the only men's team who played at the U18 Europe Cup last year. They finished 10th overall. Their star player Andrii Poshablia is the best ranked player at the event (17th overall in U18 category). The other team to watch will be the Italian hosts, led by 17-year-old rising star Lorenzo Donadio,
In the women's category, teams are divided in 2 pools of 4. The pool winners qualify directly and the teams ranked 2nd and 3rd in their pool play a semi-final against the teams ranked 3rd and 2nd respectively in the other pool. The winners of these 2 semi-finals book 2 tickets to Debrecen.
Three of these 8 teams featured at the U18 Europe Cup last year: Italy (7th), Czech Republic (8th) and Spain (9th). Czech Republic will feature 2 players who won silver at the U18 World Cup last year, including Alzbeta Levinska, who's currently the number one 3x3 player in the U18 women's category.
The Hungarian hosts will be followed by the top 3 teams from Szolnok and the top 4 teams from the Bari and Voiron Qualifiers in the women's edition.
The event will be livestreamed on FIBA3x3's YouTube channel.
Twelve men's teams and 12 women's teams will play in Debrecen. Last year, Hungary (women) and Belgium (men) won the competition.
FIBA