Australian Men Worked Our “Asses Off” Says Wright

Australian 3×3 Asia Cup champion Tom Wright says the men’s team worked their “asses off” to win gold at the tournament.

Defending the gold medal they won at last year’s event, the Australian men were dominant, going undefeated throughout the pool stages and the finals. It all culminated in a 21-9 victory over Mongolia in the gold medal game.

According to Wright, the new look team of Tim Coenraad, Greg Hire and Lucas Walker put the hard yards in during the event and are now reaping the benefits.

“Back to back, it feels pretty damn good,” Wright told the FIBA 3×3 broadcast.

“I think the strength of Australian 3×3 is that we have so many good players. These three guys (Hire, Walker, Coenraad) played NBL and are great professionals.

“We had some injuries, some guys who couldn’t make it, it was a new group but they stepped up and worked their asses off.”

The win cements Australia’s dominance of Asia, having won the last two Asia Cup gold medals. It also holds the Aussies in good stead leading into the FIBA 3×3 World Cup on June 18-23 in Amsterdam.

However, Wright is under no illusions that the World Cup will present a much tougher challenger, as the level of opposition will increase.

“It feels like we are still very far behind Europe, you got some great teams over there who we study and they’re the benchmark,” Wright said.

“We are developing but there is a long way to go and it will be a big test at the World Cup.”

Wright also discussed the connection between the men’s and women’s team, which was evident when both gold medallists celebrated on the court together after the men’s grand final.

“It’s huge, we are such a tight group,” Wright said.

“When we come on the road, we are hanging out together, discussing the games and working hard.”