Australian double delight at Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup
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Australia players celebrating their victory in the men's and women's finals of the Fiba 3X3 Asia Cup held in Singapore on March 30.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
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SINGAPORE – To chase his dreams of becoming a professional basketballer, Dillon Stith uprooted his life and moved over 16,000km from the United States to Melbourne a decade ago.
Fresh out of college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the American had his sights set on Europe, but was unable to find opportunities there, so he decided to make the move Down Under.
Over the next 10 years, he established himself in the five-on-five scene, playing with several National Basketball League outfits, before obtaining Australian citizenship in 2023.
He went on to attend several training camps with the national 3x3 team, but never got the chance to don the Gangurrus’ green and gold colours. That was until he earned a call-up for the Fiba 3x3 Champions Cup in mid-March in Bangkok, where Australia finished third.
Just over a fortnight after that, the 33-year-old was pivotal as Australia clinched their fifth Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup title, and second straight, by beating China 21-19 in a nail-biting encounter at the OCBC Square on March 30.
Following their victory, Most Valuable Player Stith said: “I came to Australia and in the last 10 years, basketball in Australia has just gone up and up and up. I’ve got to see that growth and it’s amazing...
“I love Australia, I’ve fallen in love with Melbourne, it’s a beautiful place, it’s been a beautiful decade, so to be able to stand here now with Australia across my chest is pretty surreal.”
However, the route to retaining their title was not straightforward for the world No. 26 Australians, who suffered a setback in the group stage as they lost 21-16 to Japan to finish second in Pool C, setting up tougher fixtures in the knockout rounds.
But the defeat turned out to be a “defining chapter” in their campaign as they followed it up with a quarter-final win over two-time champions Mongolia (21-7), before overcoming New Zealand 21-19 in the semi-finals.
Stith shared that the team usually review footage of their games the morning after matches, but analysed their loss to Japan on the same night. He said: “When we lost to Japan – they played an awesome game – it made our three games today a lot tougher.
“We reviewed our film after the Japan game that night and re-evaluated, changed a little bit of strategy and came in confident, so we’re happy.”
They were also made to fight hard for their victory over 11th-ranked China in the decider. The teams exchanged the lead in a thrilling battle, with Alex Higgins-Titsha and Guo Hanyu scoring 11 points each to spearhead their respective teams.
With the score 19-19, both went for broke but the Australians were awarded three free throws following a technical foul. They needed just two to seal back-to-back triumphs as Jonah Antonio and Stith both converted their efforts.
Stith said: “I feel very proud, I’m very proud of the squad, I’m proud of the men and women’s team, all the staff and coaches, it was a big effort. We came to Singapore and we ran it back.”
Australia’s Dillon Stith (No. 7) tussles with China’s Zhang Dianliang in the men’s final of the Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup held in Singapore on March 30.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
There was double joy for the Australians, whose 16th-ranked women completed a three-peat of titles with a 21-17 victory over world No. 14 Japan in the final.
Although the defending champions went ahead early on, Japan were indefatigable, taking the lead briefly at 8-7. But Australia levelled at 9-9, before pulling ahead to claim their fifth Asian crown.
Despite solidifying their dominance in Asia, Marena Whittle highlighted how the Australians are embracing the stiffer challenges as they look to make their mark on the global stage.
The 31-year-old said: “This was a really good tournament, I’m really excited. I really enjoyed the show that Singapore put on, it’s a great city, great country and today was a really tough day, so I’m really happy that we walked away with the championship.
“There’s a couple of moments that we were sweating a little bit but we got better from it.”
Australia’s Marena Whittle grabbing a rebound during the women’s final of the Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup against Japan.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Meanwhile, the Singapore men matched their best finish at the continental event by making it to the quarter-finals, where they lost 21-17 in a close encounter against Japan, who lost 21-18 to New Zealand in the third-place play-off.
In the women’s third-place game, China beat the Philippines 21-11.
Kimberly Kwek joined The Straits Times in 2019 as a sports journalist and has since covered a wide array of sports, including golf and sailing.
