Cause of the growing popularity of 3×3 basketball can be a contest between European countries for the title of the best team on the continent. From the very beginning, that competition got a very simple name – Europe Cup. To date, this tournament had seven interesting and thrilling editions.
Many exciting games were played during the relatively short history of the Europe Cup. Those fixtures provided a lot of magnificent shots, assists, and actions. The name of the winners of the World Cups are showing that the best 3×3 basketball is played on Europe soil. We are going to explain to you in detail how the tradition of this contest has been built over years.
What are the most important things to know about Europe Cup?
It’s the most significant 3×3 tournament for national squads in Europe. This competition started to be held two years later than the World Cup. Players should be registered on site play.fiba3x3basketball and have a passport of the country they want to represent.
Rosters of each team are picked by their national federations. Serbia is the most successful country in Europe Cup with four gold medals and one silver medal.
Who won the first Europe Cup?
First Europe Cup was held in Romania in 2014 and contained four groups of four teams. The rule was that the two best-ranked teams in every pool in 2014 Europe Cup advanced to the quarterfinals.
Serbia and Spain proceeded to the elimination stage from group A, while Belgium and Estonia progressed from pool B. Slovenia and Estonia were first-placed and second-placed teams in group C, while Lithuania and Greece earned tickets for the Top 8 phase in pool D.
Serbia, the world champion at that time, was eliminated against Greece in the quarterfinal in something that turned out to be a big upset. Romania, the host of the competition, beat Slovenia in the final game with 18-16 and became the European champion.
What happened on the big stage during the 2016 Europe Cup?
The format of the tournament changed as 12 teams participated in the main draw. A three-day spectacle was organized again in Bucharest, the Romanian capital, in 2016.
Serbia and Romania played in the first quarterfinal, while Netherlands and Italy formed the second Top 8 clash. Slovenia and Poland battle for the semifinal place, while the last quarterfinal was played between Russia and Spain.
Serbia passed through an obstacle called Romania and convincingly won against the Netherlands in the semifinal. Slovenia pulled out a victory over Poland and defeated Russia later. Slovenia won against neighbors Serbia in the big final with 19-17 and clinched the first trophy in their history.
Which countries played in the final of the third edition of the Europe Cup?
The 2017 Europe Cup took place in the Dutch capital Amsterdam and it was the first time that men’s and women’s tournaments were played separately. The euphoria was so big that Museumplein, a public space in Amsterdam, couldn’t receive all interested spectators.
Serbia was a superior force in World Cups at that time as they won three out of four held planetary championships until then. However, Dusan Bulut and his teammates were stopped again in European contest. The fatal team for them was Latvia in the semifinal which beat them with 19-17.
Latvia defeated later defending champions Slovenia in the final with 16-13. It was clear to passionate fans that a new force is growing in 3×3 basketball. It’s worth mentioning that Edgars Krumins, Karlis Lasmanis, Nauris Miezis, and Agnis Cavars were players who won the trophy in the Netherlands.
How did Latvia bear the reputation of a “growing force in 3×3 basketball”?
Romania was hosting the tournament for the third time in 2018. The competition was held on September 14-16 and there were many candidates for the throne ahead of the championship.
Serbia was aiming for the title again in 2018 Europe Cup, especially if we know the fact that guys from this country only lacked the trophy intended for champions of Europe.
Dusan Bulut, Dejan Majstorovic, Marko Savic, and Marko Zdero finally went all the way and won the Europe Cup. They pulled out a 19-18 victory over defender of the throne Latvia in the game for the gold medal.
Dusan Bulut was named tournament MVP, while Karlis Lasmanis was in the Team of the Competition.
How did the Serbian guys react to winning the European Cup in 2018?
FIBA decided to place the organization of the fifth edition of the continental championship into Hungarian hands. The competition was very strong back then and many teams came to Debrecen, a Hungarian city, with the hope of winning the gold medal.
Latvia was eliminated shockingly in the group stage of 2019 Europe Cup as they were defeated in fixtures against neighbors Lithuania and Austria.
Serbia broke the curse in the previous Europe Cup and they were encouraged by that fact ahead of this tournament. They easily earned a card for the quarterfinal and then beat two Soviet countries.
Ukraine was beaten in the quarterfinals, while Lithuania fell short in the semi. Four-time champions of the world won against France in the final with 21-18 and added a new trophy to their treasury.
Here is a full final game:
What occurred in the 2021 Europe Cup?
The sixth edition of the continental championship took part in Paris, the French capital, in 2021. The format with 12 teams that compete in four groups of three teams stayed valid in this competition.
Another massive blow for Latvians, current Olympic champions, was not qualifying for the 2021 Europe Cup.
Two other strong Soviet republics Russia and Lithuania were still in the main draw and they both reached the semifinal. Serbia beat Russia in the Top 4 and took revenge on them for the loss in the same stage of the 2021 Olympic Games. On the other side, Lithuania defeat Poland and got the ticket for the biggest challenge – the golden medal fixture against the Serbs.
However, Serbia didn’t have many problems in the final clash as they crashed the Lithuanian guys with 20-14. Serbia was represented by Dejan Majstorovic, Miroslav Pasajlic, Aleksandar Ratkov, and Mihailo Vasic.
How did Serbian rivals handle the pressure of removing Serbs from the throne?
Austria is considered as a country where 3×3 basketball is passionately watched. Austrian city Graz had the privilege to host the best teams in the Europe in summer of 2022.
The current champion of planet Serbia had one ambition in this competition – to conquer Europe one more time. Dusan Bulut retired from playing for the national squad in 2021 and new faces appeared in Serbian shirt. Strahinja Stojacic and Marko Brankovic replaced Bulut and Miroslav Pasajlic successfully.
Serbia defeated Poland and Netherlands in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively in 2022 Europe Cup. Their biggest rivals Latvia pulled out victories over Israel and Lithuania in the elimination stages.
Latvia wanted to come into possession of the trophy again, but they simply couldn’t match the quality of Dejan Majstorovic and his teammates. Serbia beat Latvia convincingly with 21-14 and won the fourth gold in a row.
Europe Cup is not enjoying maybe a reputation as World Cup, but 3×3 basketball is now hardly imaginable without this competition. Eight-year history of the continental championship was marked by performances of Dejan Majstorovic, Romanian hospitality, and Serbia as the four-time winner.
The upcoming period will certainly provide something new to the spectators. We just have to wait to see what exactly. Four teams lifted the trophy and fans are impatient to look new name in the golden book of winners. Until that moment, we can remind ourselves of unforgettable games in Europe Cup.
Add Comment