News
NBL 3×3 Pro Hustle 1: Preview
What: NBL 3×3 Pro Hustle 1
When: 10am – 6pm, Sunday April 22 (Finals commencing from 2:00pm)
Where: Docklands Studios, Melbourne
Open Men’s Category:
Professional 3×3 basketball debuts in Australia with the NBL 3×3 Pro Hustle 1 from Docklands Studios in Melbourne on Sunday. The top 3×3 players in the country have been assembled along with former NBL stars and some representatives from abroad with $10k prize money on the line.
NBL fans will be familiar with the likes of Oscar Forman and Luke Schenscher who have teamed up with the #2 3×3 player in Australia, Tim Keating, in the Townsville outfit. They’ll be out for revenge against the iAthletic Spectres squad to knocked them off in the Grand Final of the South Australia Big Hustle earlier this year.
The iAthletic Spectres squad looks a bit different to the one that has been on a tear in previous 3×3 Hustle events, with two-time NBL champion Tommy Greer teaming up with Sydney Kings teammates Adam Thoseby and Dane Pineau, both fresh off rookie campaigns in the Harbour City while Owen Odigie rounds out their team.
Thoseby is coming off a Commonwealth Games campaign with England where he dropped 20 points in multiple games, one of which came against eventual silver medallists Canada.
While the iAthletic Spectres and Townsville team have seen each other before, another favourite are The Platypuses who took out the Queensland Big Hustle event paced by recently retired Brisbane Bullets big man Anthony Petrie and former Boomers London Olympian Peter Crawford.
If that duo wasn’t enough for them to be up there as favourites, they’ve added Jeremy Kendle as well who suited up for the Sydney Kings last season following an NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets in 2016/17. Kendle has been on a tear early in the SEABL season with Bendigo making this lineup one of the strongest on paper.
Unfortunately the Garlepp brothers duo were broken up, with Tom Garlepp having to pull out at the last minute but brother Josh Garlepp was quick to bring in a more than capable replacement in Melbourne United DP Felix Von Hofe.
Garlepp remains the #4 ranked 3×3 player in Australia and will be keen to not only take home the $10k but rise back up in the rankings at the same time.
The dark horses of the competition are without a doubt ToruXToru (translated to “three x three”) who are the top 3×3 team out of New Zealand, with these athletes heading to Shenzhen in China to represent their country at the 2018 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.
Big man Rory Fannon is the #1 ranked player in NZ and should prove to be a force down low giving us some tantalising match ups with Schenscher and Petrie in particular.
Open Women’s Category
The women will be bringing the excitement, with the Deakin Melbourne Boomers WNBL team suiting up a pair of AFLW stars in Monique Conti and Chloe Molloy alongside Jasmine Simmons and Australian Opals representative Maddie Garrick.
Conti and Garrick are fresh off going all the way to the WNBL grand final with the Boomers making them one of the teams to watch throughout the day.
The Canberra squad aren’t messing around, with Andrew Gaze’s niece and current Canberra Capitals player Kate Gaze joining Sarah McAppion who has represented Australia previously at the 2017 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.
Joining them is Keely Froling, with this team taking out the ACT Big Hustle event which earned them a spot in the Pro Hustle. With a lot of experience under their belt, they’ll be expected to be there down the stretch.
The iAthletic Spectres team in the women’s side of the competition is no joke either, with Bec Cole joining Hanna Zavezc, Marena Whittle and Izzy Chilcott.
Cole was another member of the Melbourne Boomers WNBL Grand Final team, having also represented Australia in 3×3 competition which will be invaluable come Sunday.
How to watch
If you’re in Melbourne, it would be criminal not to get down to Docklands Studios and see the action for yourself. In addition to some of the best 3×3 basketball around, food trucks like Mr Burger will be down along with DJ’s, giveaways and some huge jams in the dunk contest.
Click here to purchase tickets
If you can’t get down to watch in person, we’re bringing the stream to you all day from the show court with Cam Luke and Liam Santamaria calling all the action.
You can catch the action from 11:45am AEST on:
The action kicks off from 10:30am, with Finals commencing at 2:00pm.
Keep it locked to @3x3hustle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the day.
