Jeddah win their first-ever 3x3 pro tournament at Huawei Xiong An 3x3 Challenger

26 Aug 2019

XIONG AN (China) - Jeddah (KSA) shocked everyone at the Huawei Xiong An 3x3 Challenger to win their first-ever 3x3 Challenger on August 24, 2019.

The winners: Jeddah (KSA)

It only took 3 attempts for Jeddah to win their first professional 3x3 event. Just a week after finishing  3rd in Ljubljana, Szymon Rduch  and co secured their 2nd ticket to a Masters.

The team defeated local favorites Beijing in the quarter-finals and red hot Vrbas (SRB) in the semi-finals. They finished in style with the W over Amsterdam.

They were

- Number one in one point shots made (50)

- Free throws made (10)

- Defensive rebounds (54)

The runner-ups: Amsterdam (NED)

The Dutch squad bounced back after a couple of disappointing tournaments to reach the final in Xiong An. 

Sjoerd van Vilsteren and Jesse Markusse were key in Amsterdam's defense with  31 and 26 rebounds respectively. 

The final: Amsterdam 15 - 16 Jeddah

As the score reflects, it wasn't a walk in the park for Jeddah (KSA), who suffered until the last second to clinch the win in China. 

Szymon Rduch was a force for the Saudi team with 7 points, finishing as top scorer of the final - and 5th of the event - Kevin Corre also contributed with 4pts in the championship game. 

For Amsterdam, Aaron Roijé and Dimeo van der Horst chipped in 6 points each, not enough to defeat Jeddah though.

The reward:
 Two tickets to the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Los Angeles Masters powered by L.A. Times

Jeddah and Amsterdam join the #1 team in the World Novi Sad, Liman, Princeton, Zemun and Gagarin in the ninth stop on this season’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour.

Final Standings: 
1. Jeddah (KSA)
2. Amsterdam (NED)
3. Vrbas (SRB)
4. Antwerp (BEL)
5. The Hague (NED)

Top Scorers: 
1. Dimeo van der Horst (Amsterdam - NED) - 43 pts
2. Strahinja Stojacic (Vrbas - SRB) - 33 pts
3. Aron Roijé (Amsterdam - NED) - 30 pts
4. Ivan Popovic (Vrbas - SRB) - 29 pts
5. Szymon Rduch (Jeddah - KSA) - 28 pts
- Kevin Corre (Jeddah - KSA) - 28 pts

Key Stats: 

- Vrbas (SRB) vs Humpolec Bernard (CZE) was the fastest game of the event with only  5'52" of playing time.
- Ljubljana (SLO) were perfect from the free-throw line (100%)
- The Hague (NED) had a dunk party with a total of 6 in the event. 
- Strahinja Stojacic (Vrbas) was a highlight reel with a total of 26. 

Next Challenger: Inje Challenger (August 31 - September 1)