ÖBV Women Fall Short at 3x3 Home Tournament in Vienna After Dramatic 12:14 Loss to France

Die Auslosung sei nicht einfach, aber mit dem Heimpublikum im Rücken könne man viel schaffen, said Fuchs-Robetin before the tournament. Sill also looked ahead to the home games with optimism: „Ich traue uns den Turniersieg zu." The hope for a successful European Championship qualification and for making up for the disappointing performance the previous year, when the team was also eliminated in the group stage, provided additional motivation.

Drama Against France in Overtime

On Saturday (6:30 PM, live on ORF Sport +), the ÖBV team faced France in its second group game. Following a strong defensive performance, the Austrians led 12:8 at one point. But shortly before the end of regular time, the French equalized at 12:12, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, the home team conceded two more points and ultimately lost 12:14.

The disappointment among the players was subsequently great. „Die Höhen und Tiefen sind in den zehn Minuten sehr exzessiv. Es tut wirklich weh, das noch hergegeben zu haben", added Sill, who along with her teammates is now hoping for a successful European Championship qualification. Allesch also found clear words in an ORF interview: „Es ist schade. Wir haben das Spiel in unserer Hand gehabt. Am Ende haben wir es nicht rübergebracht."

Disappointment Among the ÖBV Players

After the strong defensive performance and the interim 12:8 lead, the loss against France was particularly painful, as a better placement in the group still seemed possible. The ÖBV women missed out on advancing to the quarterfinals and, as in the previous year, were eliminated in the group stage.

Men's Team Fights After Opening Loss

While the women's event ended with the early elimination of the host nation, the concurrently held men's tournament as part of the World Tour was less successful for the home representatives. Team Vienna, consisting of Toni Blazan, Quincy Diggs, Stefan Stojacic, and Steven Kaltenbrunner, narrowly lost their opening game on Saturday afternoon 15:16 to Serbian team Liman, the former World Tour champion.

Liman had previously defeated Red Star Belgrade, the second Serbian representative in the tournament, convincingly 21:13. Since the top two teams per group advance, Team Vienna's chances of moving on to the quarterfinals remained intact despite the opening loss. Late on Saturday evening (10:25 PM, live on ORF Sport +), the men's quartet therefore faced Red Star Belgrade, still fighting for a place in the knockout round.

Review of the Previous Year and Desire for Revenge

Before the tournament, Team Vienna's players had emphasized the home advantage. „Mit dem Heimpublikum im Rücken können wir uns den Titel holen", announced Diggs at a press conference on Thursday. „Wir haben bei der WM gezeigt, dass wir wieder ganz oben mitspielen können", said the point guard, who had gained confidence at the World Championship. „Wir wollen Revanche", added Diggs with a view to the previous year's disappointment.

Fuchs-Robetin had also emphasized before the tournament: „Wir haben mit dem Turnier noch eine Rechnung offen." The team coached by Stefan Stojacic is also looking back on an unfortunate experience from 2025, when Team Vienna was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Amsterdam, after a possible foul on the Austrians was not called shortly before the end of the game. „Wir hätten uns eine Medaille verdient gehabt", Blazan looked back on that elimination.

Despite the early elimination of the women, ÖBV Secretary General Aldin Saracevic underlined the importance of the event for domestic basketball. „Der Bewerb ist für uns sehr wichtig, weil der Basketballsport dadurch viel mehr Sichtbarkeit bekommt", he said. The home tournament in Vienna is also, beyond the sporting results, an important step toward anchoring 3x3 basketball more firmly in Austria.

Significance for Austrian Basketball

The tournament program in Vienna included, in addition to the men's and women's senior national teams, the U23 national teams as well as the wheelchair basketball players, who also took to the court at Heumarkt. The home tournament thus offered a broad public insights into various divisions and formats of 3x3 basketball.

The disappointment among the ÖBV women predominated, however, at the end of the weekend. The interim lead against France and the narrow opening performance of the men against Liman nevertheless showed that the home teams can compete at the international level. The players will now look ahead and hope for a successful European Championship qualification.

For the men's Team Vienna, following the game against Red Star Belgrade, it was about keeping alive the chance of reaching the quarterfinals. „Ich würde auf uns wetten", said Stojacic self-confidently. The situation heading into the late Saturday evening game was intact despite the 15:16 loss against Liman, as the group stage had not yet concluded.

With the elimination of the ÖBV women, the home tournament loses one of its central sporting narratives. Following the defeat against Canada and the narrow loss the previous year, the players had set out to achieve a clear improvement. Instead, they had to make an early journey home from the group stage, while the men were still fighting for advancement.

The tournament in Vienna also underscored the international class of the 3x3 scene: with Canada and France, the ÖBV women faced two heavyweights established at the world's top level of 3x3 basketball. The performance of the host nation, particularly the phase between the 8:12 lead and the late equalizer by the French, showed that the team is internationally competitive, even if the necessary bit of luck was ultimately lacking.

The organizers also emphasized the media reach of the event. ORF Sport + broadcast the games live, accompanied by a livestream offering. The tournament thus reached a broad audience in Austria and was able to make 3x3 basketball visible beyond just sports enthusiasts.

For the future, the ÖBV women have the prospect of the upcoming European Championship qualification, in which they want to build on their shown performances. The home tournament experience, even though it ended with an early elimination, could be valuable for the further development of the team and of 3x3 basketball in Austria.