Fiba World Tour gained a lot of fans over the previous decade with fantastic organization and spectacular games. Players with basketball experience accepted to attend this world’s class competition trying to feel different kinds of emotions than before. One of the countries that is recognizable for the evolution of 3×3 basketball is the Netherlands.
The most famous team from this country comes from the capital and has the same name as the city – Amsterdam. Amsterdam’s road through this prestigious competition was turbulent and bumpy, but they never gave up on their style. Let’s preview shortly their history and which players represented them.
What was first Amsterdam’s season on World Tour?
First World Tour for Amsterdam was back in 2014 when they competed at Lausanne Masters. The tournament in Switzerland was the debut performance for guys from the Netherlands and a chance to shine on a big stage.
Amsterdam was represented by Jesper Jobse, Nielse Plieger, Sander Trommelen, and Sjoerd Van Vilsteren. After advancing to a quarterfinal, Jasper and his colleagues faced Slovenian Ljubljana and won the game with 13-11. Unfortunately, another Slovenian team Trbovlje defeated the heroes of today’s story with 17-16 in the semis and violently crushed their dreams about the first-ever trophy in this competition.
What happened in the second campaign with guys from the Netherland?
One year later, the same players performed for the Dutch roster in the most popular international competition in 3×3. Jesper Jobse and his teammates played only Masters in Prague, the Czech capital, hoping they could improve their result from a previous campaign.
Amsterdam took part in group D together with Serbian Belgrade and French Paris ending in third place. First, the Dutch squad won against the Serbian guys with 11-10 in a super-thrilling clash. Afterwards, players from the French capital defeated convincingly heroes of our story with 22-11. It was a sad scenario after hard preparations before the start of the season.
How far did the Dutch guys go in their third season in this super-exciting competition?
Before the start of World Tour’s fifth edition, Sergio De Randamie and Joey Schelvis replaced Sander Trommelen and Niels Plieger in the roster hoping they could be valuable signings for the future. Spectators didn’t give up from dreaming big ahead of a new campaign trying to motivate players to give maximum on the court.
Unfortunately, only Amsterdam’s participation at Masters that year was in the Hungarian city Debrecen. The heroes of our story reached the Top 8 stage where they lost to superior Novi Sad with 21-14.
What occurred in the 2017 season with Jesper Jobse and his teammates?
The disappointing previous season shake a few true fans of this team, so they looked for new reinforcements. Matthew Van Tongeren and Bas Rozendaal became new members, while Sergie De Randamie and Sjoerd Van Vilstereen left the squad ahead of the beginning of the new season.
An interesting fact was that Amsterdam played together with two Serbian teams in Debrecen Masters in Pool C. Belgrade and Liman were fatal for Dutch guys so the quarterfinal remained the only dream. Despite signing two great acquisitions, guys from Netherland ended the competition with sadness on their faces.
What was the next challenge for the heroes of our story?
Following the 2017 season, Amsterdam brought Aron Roije, Dimeo Van Der Horst, and Sjoerd Van Vilsteren which turned out to be a good decision. Netherland’s team started to compete in more Masters throughout the season. Taking 2nd place at Utsunomiya Masters losing to Liman in the final with 18-11 was a massive breakthrough in the club’s history.
Participation in Prague, Lausanne, and Mexico City tournaments was a good introduction to Final Masters in Beijing. Riga beat Amsterdam in the semis of competition in China with 19-17, but the Dutch supporters were satisfied with the player’s performance.
What occurred with Amsterdam in the 2019 campaign?
After significant progress was made in the 2018 season, Amsterdam started preparing for the next obstacles on their road to glory. Jesse Markusse strengthened their roster, while the Dutch team’s fans expected more compared to the previous campaign. Subsequently, Netherland’s squad took three 4th places at Chengdu, Mexico, and Saskatoon Masters.
Those results were followed by finishing in 6th and 4th place at Los Angeles and Nanjing tournaments, respectively.
Heroes of our story qualified for the Utsunomiya Masters held in Japan hoping they could go at least one step further than in the last Final Masters. USA’s team Princeton was too strong and defeated them in the semis with 22-13.
How did the guys from Amsterdam recover from disappointment in the 2019 season?
Losing to Princeton in the Top 4 in the 2018 Final Masters was painful for the Dutch guys, but they motivated themselves to be better in 2020 thanks to the strong support of their fans. Julian Jaring and Arvin Slagter were new reinforcements in the already powerful squad.
However, the heroes of today’s story only managed to take 5th place and 8th place at Debrecen Masters and Final Masters in Jeddah, respectively. Interestingly, Lithuanian Utena was fatal both times.
In what manner did guys from Netherlands react to failure in 2020?
Amsterdam was represented by Julian Jaring, Arvin Slagter, Dimeo Van Der Horst, Aron Roije, and Maksim Kovacevic throughout the 2021 campaign. The first Masters on the calendar was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Aron Roije, Arvin Slagter, Julian Jaring, and Maksim Kovacevic were a quartet for that tournament in which supporters put big hope. Their favorite players justified expectations as they reached the top of the mountain. Ultimately, Maksim Kovacevic scored deciding shot which made Dusan Bulut devastated.
The first and legendary Masters was won by beating Novi Sad with 21-19 in an exciting photo finish.
How was Amsterdam playing in other tournaments in World Tour’s tenth edition?
Amsterdam won third place at Debrecen Masters after suffering a loss against Riga in the semis with 14-12. Maksim Kovacevic and his teammates had a better result in Montreal where second place was taken following the defeat against Ub with 21-15 in the final game. Abu Dhabi was not so lucky location for players from the Netherlands because they ended the tournament in fifth place.
Eventually, Amsterdam took third place in Jeddah Final. Russian Gagarin beat them with 21-17 in the Top 8 phase and let Dutch spectators sad once again.
What did this team’s roster look like in 2022?
Prior to the competition in 2022, Jan Driessen joined Amsterdam’s roster to help them finally win the World Tour title. Other members of the squad were Maksim Kovacevic, Arvin Slagter, Julian Jaring, and Dimeo Van Der Horst.
Winning two fourth places and three third places at Masters didn’t quite meet the expectations of players, so Final Masters was an opportunity for redemption.
At Abu Dhabi Final Masters, Amsterdam went through a group stage and won against Omaha 3Ball in the quarterfinal with 16-15. Unfortunately, they faced the mighty Ub in the semis and lost convincingly with 21-14. Afterwards, it turned out that Amsterdam was one obstacle on the Serbian’s road to the trophy.
The Dutch team has never won the World Tour title so far, but they are always aiming to achieve that goal. Their motivation and persistence are tremendous and many teams can look up to their example. They have many spectators all around the world thanks to the hard work of their players on the training grounds. Additionally, 3×3 experts like to investigate and research their style of play and tactics on the court.
Are they going to win it in the end? Nobody can say with certainty. One thing is sure 100%. Amsterdam’s players will never give up on their principles of and on the battling field.
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