Singapore produce giant-killing win over Lugano to reach 3x3.EXE Super Premier q-finals

SINGAPORE – Despite an 11.5cm height disadvantage, underdogs Singapore produced an upset win over Swiss side Lugano in a 3x3.EXE Super Premier Group B game on March 28 to progress to the quarter-finals.

Following their 18-17 victory, the hosts will be hoping to extend their giant-killing run at the Sengkang Grand Mall on March 29, when they will take on Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex at 2.40pm for a place in the semi-finals. Admission is free.

Touted as the world’s largest professional 3x3 basketball league system, the Super Premier competition features a 12-team field of play-off qualifiers and invited guest teams. The three-stop series will conclude in Singapore, which is hosting the event for the first time.

Making their tournament debut at the first stop in Japan earlier in the month, the national men’s 3x3 team had made a winning start by beating Japanese side Minakami Town 21-16, before losing 21-11 to Thailand’s RN Sport and 21-8 to Utsunomiya in the quarter-finals.

In the second stop in Thailand, they lost both their group games to Japan’s Hachinohe Dime (18-13) and Lugano (22-12).

But Singapore – comprising captain Nur Aufa Emil Putra, Ching Zhen Yu, Xu Duanyang and Liam Blakney – made full use of their home advantage to stun Lugano on March 28, despite on average being 11.5cm shorter than the Japan-leg champions, whose players average 1.98m in stature.

In the David versus Goliath affair, Singapore played solid defence against their more physically imposing opponents. Ching stood out with nine points, including two two-pointers to help his team establish an 18-14 lead. Lugano reduced the deficit to 18-17 with 15 seconds remaining in the 10-minute match, but could not find another basket.

In their second game, Singapore suffered a 21-19 overtime defeat by Japan’s Shonan Seaside, who then fell 22-9 to Lugano and failed to progress to the last eight as they had the fewest average points in Group B.

Displaying the high standards they have set for themselves, Nur Aufa said: “We played well, especially in the first game, but fatigue got to us in the second game, and we didn’t execute at the end.

“We missed too many free throws, too many twos and lay-ups. We missed three game-winning shots. That’s unacceptable.”

Head coach Lazar Rasic believes his players will only gain from this pain, as they will “remember the moment and next time recognise the situation on the court”.

Meanwhile, the Singapore men’s Under-23 team suffered two narrow Group C defeats, losing 21-20 to Australia’s Brisbane 3x3 before falling 20-18 in overtime to Japan’s Zethree Ishikawa. They failed to win any of their six games across the three stops.

Rasic, who also oversees the Singapore U-23s, noted: “Today we had two tough losses, which is still an improvement compared to the last two stops.

“Definitely, they are reacting. It’s just that in crucial moments, we are soft.”

There has been a fresh wave of optimism around Singapore 3x3 basketball following a surprise silver at the 2025 SEA Games, where the men’s team stunned powerhouses the Philippines in the semi-finals.

Their men’s and women’s teams also qualified for the July 23-Aug 2 Commonwealth Games and are in the running to compete at the Sept 19-Oct 4 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

After the conclusion of the Super Premier series, local basketball fans can still savour more top-level action and support the Singapore teams at the April 1-5 Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup and the April 11-12 Fiba 3x3 World Cup Qualifier that will be held at The Kallang’s OCBC Square.