PRAGUE (Czech Republic) – MVP Dejan Majstorovic scored 13 points in the final including the closing two and free throws as Ub Huishan NE (SRB) won a record sixth Masters in a season at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Prague Masters on August 6.
The number one seed came away with a 21-17 win against Riga in the final, who were led by an on-fire Miroslav Pašajlić. Him and teammate Edgar Krumins led the charge early for the Latvian side. For the dominant Ub, it was Majstorovic from the start, raining down twos to keep his side with the advantage. Riga never fell back, pulling level early with a second-chance layup by Edgar Krumins. Majstorovic and Pasaljic traded shots from deep, keeping Ub just a point ahead at 11-10.
It was soon time for top-ranked Strahinja Stojacic to make his mark on the game as he did expertly, driving into the paint and faking his opposition out to score a scintillating bucket. With just under four minutes to go, it seemed like Ub had set themselves for yet another win with a 17-13 lead as a result of missed chances from deep from Riga. They fought back however, focusing on high-percentage shots as they drove to the bucket each time to slice into the deficit. A layup from Krumins leveled the game at 17 points apiece.
There came the moment for the star of the show Majstorovic who had netted four twos so far in the game already. A deep two followed along with a foul, sending him to the free-throw line for two all-important opportunities. The veteran Serb drained both to hand Ub a historic win in Prague.
Majstorovic won his first MVP award for the season, finishing the event with 43 points, 13 of them coming in the final against Riga.
In the Individual contests, Arturs Strelnieks (Riga) won the CEPS Shoot-Out Contest, while Denmark’s Bartosz Szwed won the Chance Dunk Contest.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Ub Huishan NE (SRB)
2. Riga (LAT)
3. Antwerp TOPDesk (BEL)
4. Beijing (CHN)
5. Amsterdam HiPRO (NED)
6. Liman Huishan NE (SRB)
7. Partizan (SRB)
8. Marijampole Mantinga (LTU)
9. Vienna (AUT)
10. Jeddah (KSA)
11. Paris (FRA)
12. Ostrava Victoria (CZE)
13. Tel-Aviv (ISR)
14. Fribourg (SUI)
The World Tour action travels to Switzerland next as the Lausanne Masters takes place on August 18-19.
