This weekend, the penultimate Masters of the 2024 FIBA 3×3 World Tour concluded in Saudi Arabia. For three days, the tournament brought fresh surprises. First, the legendary Serbian team Ub Huishan NE was knocked out of the title race, bringing two other Serbian teams, Partizan Meta Force and Liman, into the spotlight. For instance, after the first day, Partizan’s leader, Stefan Milivojevic, topped the MVP rankings. Meanwhile, Liman, which had started less actively than their Serbian counterparts, regrouped by the end of the tournament and made it to the finals, where they fought Miami for the title.
The Neom Masters 2024 spanned three days. Day one featured qualifying matches, with numerous young teams from Saudi Arabia competing alongside a few experienced foreign teams. In the end, luck was on the side of the more experienced teams, with Hangzhou and Plunge advancing to the main event.
After the first, essentially “warm-up” day, the main phase of the tournament began, and things heated up. Teams fought until the last minute, keeping scores close.
For example, in the semifinals, Partizan Meta Force battled fiercely against Raudondvaris Hoptrans. The Lithuanian team was very strong, even though they lacked their main center. This gave Serbian player Milos Supica a bit more freedom, though he struggled to score easy points from under the rim.
Throughout the game, Partizan held a slight advantage, but Stefan Torbica’s deep three-pointer with two and a half minutes left made it difficult for Raudondvaris to recover. Torbica’s three long-range shots and nine points from the field made the difference. Partizan showed a strong shooting percentage and confidently advanced to the semifinals.
Ub Huishan NE, on the other hand, couldn’t make it to the semifinals—they were defeated by Vienna. The teams reached the final stretch tied at 19:19, with Vienna patiently searching for a shot under heavy Serbian pressure. Finally, Quincy Diggs calmly found his moment and knocked Ub Huishan NE out of the competition with a clutch long-range shot, despite scoring only three points all game.
Serbia’s Liman advanced confidently to the final. First, they cleared the path in their game against Amsterdam. After luring their opponents in with drives under the basket, Kojic suddenly unleashed his shooting, creating a four-point lead with two minutes remaining, adding solid defensive plays with a steal and a powerful block. This strategy allowed him to score 12 points, becoming the game’s top scorer. Marko Stevanovic ended the game with an unguarded two-pointer, fueling Liman with the energy needed for the final. The score: 21-17 in Liman’s favor.
The final matchup featured two teams from basketball powerhouses—the USA and Serbia. Miami reached the final by narrowly defeating Vienna with Mitch Hahn’s falling shot at 20:20 and gave it their all. Notably, the Americans were the only undefeated team in the tournament. Liman, meanwhile, showed their best form in recent memory, leaving Ub Huishan NE and Partizan Meta Force behind.
In the final game, Liman focused on post play, feeding the ball to Andreja Milutinovic and Mihailo Vasic, which initially yielded results despite Miami’s strong defensive efforts and block attempts. A major question arose—why did Stefan Kojic make his first shot only five minutes into the game, while James Parrott kept slicing through Liman’s defense with sharp drives?
Miami’s leader built an advantage for the Americans, kept it up, and delivered the final assist, sealing the game with a score of 22-19. Parrott, scoring exactly half of Miami’s points, predictably became MVP. In the end, Miami claimed the Neom Masters title.
Foto: FIBA 3×3
