The NMI women’s team members Jan and Kaia Travilla, Michelle Kautz, and Madeleine Alegre pose for a photo before their debut game against India in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 in Singapore on Wednesday.
THE NMI has yet to find their footing in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2024 as its women’s and men’s teams were handed their first and second losses, respectively, in Singapore on Wednesday.
The NMI Men’s team seemed a bit more comfortable the second time around, but still had a lot to work on as they bowed down to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, which controlled most of the possession throughout the 10-minute action, went straight to business, scoring the first three points before the NMI answered back with a two-pointer by Coby Santos.
Both teams continued to look for buckets with a series of shot attempts as Sri Lanka capitalized on their strength and speed to disrupt the NMI’s flow and maintain the upper hand, 10-4.
Jack Lizama started to find his rhythm adding two buckets and Douglas Schmidt followed with a shot from beyond the arc.
However, with every NMI shot made, Sri Lank answered back twice as hard within the paint, using their height to maintain a seven-point advantage with a little over two minutes left on the clock.
Although Schmidt started to heat up with back-to-back two-pointers, Sri Lanka stayed focus and eventually reached game point, 21-13.
On Thursday, the NMI Men played one more game, this time against Indonesia. The game result will be featured in Variety’s next edition.
Proud
“We were definitely more comfortable,” the NMI’s Preston Basa said after the game against Sri Lanka. “We understood the physicality of the games being played here and knew we needed to match it or try to go harder at the start of the game. In the first game [against South Korea] it took us a while to adapt and before we knew it, it was 11-0. We were definitely much better prepared mentally and physically for the second game.”
He added, “Although we did not win, I am proud of our efforts. Progress is being made and we are learning a lot about ourselves and the teams in the Asia region. We are taking advantage of our time here and are watching and learning from the teams that are here. We are being very observant of the teams’ routines; such as their pre-game preparation, warm-ups, in-game and post-game routines. No matter the result, we will come back home with great experience and knowledge of basketball beyond Micronesia. We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned with our fellow athletes in the CNMI.”
Women’s
As for the NMI Women’s team, they were simply no match against the taller, stronger and faster Indian squad, which dominated the game and had a 15-point lead before the NMI’s Madi Alegre could score a bucket.
India then continued to power through underneath the rim to reach game point, 21-1.
“We did the best we could for our first game,” the NMI’s Kaia Travilla said. “We knew that they’d have an advantage on us because of their height and how they have more experience. After that game, we plan to continue to create space and still play as one. We are looking forward to the experience we’re gaining from this high level of competition and keeping our heads up.”
The NMI Women’s team was scheduled to play against Hong Kong and Indonesia on Thursday evening.
