MANAMA (Bahrain) – Chongming (CHN) ascend to the top, defeating Paris in a 22 – 20 thriller to win the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manama on November 2.
The Chinese side asserted their dominance from the start with big man Cameron Forte leading the charge both on offense and defense. Karlis Lasmanis added key playmaking and clutch buckets alongside the duo of Zhenhuan Liu and ZhiChao Xiang as they booked their place in the final against an unbeaten Paris side.
Both teams started off the offense hot, scoring 3 apiece in just over a minute, Chongming relying on their paint presence and Paris finding success from deep through Hugo Suhard.
Rambaut and Forte engaged in a battle on the inside from the start, with the Frenchman getting his points there early. The two sides went back-and-forth with nothing separating them at 10-10. Foul trouble however, allowed Paris to pull ahead but a timely two from Chongming pulled them close.
It was an all-out frenzy at 16-17 with big buckets from Rambaut and Forte brought the game to a 20-20 standstill. With time ticking down, it was a Maurice Lacroix Buzzer Beater from ZhiChao Xiang that sealed the deal for Chongming as they would win their first-ever World Tour in Manama.
Forte was a one-man machine as he dominated his way through the competition. He would finish as top scorer of the event with 45 points as well as a tournament-high player value of 55.8. His efforts on both ends of the floor would earn him MVP honors.
In the individual contests, Jules Rambaut (Paris, FRA) won the 3×3 World Tour Manama Shoot-Out Contest presented by Tourism of Bahrain while Joel Henry won the GFH Dunk Contest.
