Singapore women’s team miss out on historic Fiba 3x3 World Cup qualification

SINGAPORE – The difference in mood could not be starker as the Singapore women’s 3x3 team hung their heads as they received an honest review from national 3x3 head coach Lazar Rasic and his assistant Mario Stefanovic, while their Philippine counterparts celebrated with wefies with fans at The Kallang’s OCBC Square on April 12.

At the Fiba 3x3 World Cup Qualifier, the hosts had two chances to progress to the June 1-7 World Cup in Poland, but squandered both with losses to world No. 13 Hungary (21-13) and 18th-ranked Philippines (21-10).

A profusely sweating Rasic could not hide his disappointment. The Serb said: “I strongly believe if we came out strongly like we did yesterday, we would be in the World Cup. Today, I don’t think our energy was at the highest level.

“It’s tough. When we won games like we did against Brazil and then play like an empty balloon the next day, I can only understand that they are young and don’t have experience.”

The 20th-ranked quartet of Matilda Lai, Han Xing Yue, Lydia Ang and Jermaine Lim had rebounded from 3-10 down in their must-win Pool B match on April 11 to record a historic victory by beating 62nd-ranked Brazil 15-13 in overtime to advance to Round 2 of the qualifiers.

In an earlier pool game that day, they had mounted a similar comeback to draw level at 19-19 against the Philippines before losing 21-19.

While they had made eight two-pointers in both games on April 11, they managed just three in two matches on April 12.

Against Hungary, they led 8-7 after five minutes but foul trouble – the Republic committed six fouls within the first 2½ minutes and were penalised by two free throws from the seventh foul – gave the European team the upper hand.

Poor handling, shooting and execution let them down in the next match against the Filipinas, who qualified for their first World Cup outside of hosting the 2018 edition.

At the World Cup Qualifier, the top two teams from two pools progress to Round 2, where the top team from each pool play the second-placed team from the other pool, with the winners advancing to the World Cup. The losing teams from Round 2 will play each other in Round 3, with the winners also earning a World Cup ticket.

In the women’s qualifiers, Lithuania progressed alongside the Philippines, whom they beat in Round 2, and Hungary.

In the men’s competition, Singapore’s world No. 30 men’s team, missing key player Liam Blakney, who has just enlisted for national service, could not advance to the next round after losing their pool games against 18th-ranked Czech Republic (20-10) and 48th-ranked Brazil (19-11) on April 11.

In Round 2 on April 12, world No. 22 and Asia Cup champions New Zealand edged out Brazil 19-17 in overtime to qualify for the World Cup, joining the Czechs, who came from behind to beat 23rd-ranked Italy 20-16.

Brazil then beat Italy 21-13 in Round 3 to complete the 20-team roster.

While both Singapore teams missed the flight to Poland, the Republic will still make their World Cup debut at the next edition, which they will host in June 2027, and will hope to have learnt from their 2026 experience.

Han, who scored the winner against Brazil, acknowledged the need to improve with a stronger defence and fewer turnovers. She said: “We didn’t follow the game plan towards the end. We need to keep fighting and reminding each other of the game plan.

“We are disappointed because we worked so hard to get here and our lack of focus cost us a place at the World Cup.

“But this was an eye-opener to play different teams from all over the world who we don’t usually get to play against, so this is a good learning experience for us.”

In 3x3, which is played on a half-court, every made basket inside the arc is worth one point and every successful shot beyond the perimeter earns two. The first team to score 21 points, or the side with more points at the end of the single 10-minute period, win. If there is a tie, the first team to score two points in overtime win.

Although Singapore have made some progress since the authorities started investing more resources into 3x3 basketball in recent years, Rasic demanded more from his players as they prepare for the April 22-30 Asian Beach Games, July 23-Aug 2 Commonwealth Games and possibly the Sept 19-Oct 4 Asian Games.

The 38-year-old said: “History was made yesterday and they may be influenced by what they see on social media and think that the job is already done.

“I warned them we still have not qualified and we need to come out hungry today in order to go to the World Cup.

“We are still babies in this sport, so every win is a huge thing, and sometimes it’s very hard to maintain all this glory overnight. We need to move on and work harder.”