The Playsport Arena in East Kilbride, Scotland hosted the Hall of Fame Classic on the 8th of June with Team NI 3 X 3 senior men’s and women’s teams facing off against England, Scotland and Ireland. The day demonstrated why 3 X 3 is such an exciting sport and was played with great spirit and sportsmanship.
Team NI Women Thrive
The Team NI Senior Women 3X3 in Scotland with a 2-1 record. The team started their tournament with a dominant 19-10 victory over England before beating Scotland 21-14. In their final game they came up against Ireland with the title on the line. After tying 15-15 in regular time, Team NI came up just short losing out in overtime.
Team NI Senior Women’s 3X3 Captain, Abigail Rafferty said this, ” We really grew from last weekend… I feel like we are really building as a team right now and were excited for the future and what Northern Ireland has to offer.”
Patrick O’Neill, Team NI 3×3 Senior Women Head Coach added, “We’re very happy with the progression we’re making, and we’re getting better game on game. We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of the Commonwealth.”
Team NI Men Battle Hard in First International Games
The Team NI 3×3 Senior Men fought hard in East Kilbride. Although results didn’t fall their way over the tournament, the back-to-back tournaments were signs of growth for 3×3 basketball in Northern Ireland. One player who caught the eye across the tournament’s was Lucien Christofis. Brighton born, Lucien, plays his Basketball in Iceland, however, with family heritage in Armagh, Lucien was honoured to pull on the Team NI.
Lucien said this about his first week with Team NI, “It’s a great group of guys and it has been a really professional week with the staff… it’s been an honour to pull on the jersey for Team NI… It has been a really great week all-in-all.”
Team NI Senior Men 3×3 Captain, Paddy McGaharan added this, “It’s been a great experience… and we got some big wins… I’m very grateful to be apart of it personally thanks to NI Commonwealth Games”
Next up for BNI 3X3 Basketball
After a couple of high intensity weekends, the 3X3 season continues with a different look this weekend. FIBA 3X3 Representative, Luc Vergoossen, is joining Team NI junior and senior teams as well as the BNI Community for a weekend of learning. More details to follow.