Melbourne tops Manila Masters Qualifying

 

Melbourne booked its spot into the main draw of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Manila Masters, securing it with two wins in qualifying action on Saturday afternoon at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

The Aussie side kicked off things with a 21-16 victory over Yokohama, with Jesse Wagstaff netting seven points and Andre Steele adding six more.

Melbourne ensured smooth sailing in securing the direct spot in Pool B with a 21-10 victory over Auckland, with Steele capping the win with a deuce for his ninth point with 3:12 left. Wagstaff added five points, including the opening two points of the match, as they went ahead 7-0 and never looked back.

Greg Hire and Cooper Wilks completed the scoring with four and three markers, respectively.

Looming ahead for the quartet are 2nd-ranked Antwerp and Sansar MMC Energy.

In a matchup to determine who will not finish last amongst the fourteen teams in the field, Auckland defeats Yokohama, 21-10 with under seven minutes remaining.

Forty thousand dollars awaits the champion of the top-level event.

Qualifying for the two-point shootout also took place in between these three matches, with a three-way tie forming between Wagstaff, Tatsuhito Noro of Yokohama, and our very own Mac Tallo. All three made seven deuces.

Completing the finalists is Chris McIntosh, as the Auckland gunner beat out Strahinja Stojacic of Ub in making six two-pointers, 29.33 seconds to 30 seconds.

One of these four shooters will have a chance tomorrow to take home $500, with a $5000 incentive for any one of the four to beat the current shootout record of seventeen.

The Scores:

Qualifying Draw:

Game 1:
Melbourne 21 - Wagstaff 7, Steel 6, Hire 4, Wilks 4.
Yokohama 16 - Popovic 12, Minatoya 4, Noro 0,  Iwasa 0.
Time: Wagstaff (8:41)

Game 2:
Melbourne 21 - Steel 9, Wagstaff 5, Hire 4, Wilks 3.
Auckland 10 - McIntosh 5, Castle 2, Easthope 2, Aruwa 1.
Time: Steel 2 (6:48)

Game 3:
Auckland 21 - Easthope 8,  Castle 6, McIntosh 4, Aruwa 3.
Yokohama 10 - Popovic 6, Minatoya 4, Noro 0,  Iwasa 0.
Time: Easthope (6:52)