New Zealand teams finish between the medals at 3×3 Fiba Asia Cup

Tai Wynyard was an all-tournament squad as the Kiwi men finished third in the 3x3 Fiba Asia Cup.

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Tai Wynyard was an all-tournament squad as the Kiwi men finished third in the 3×3 Fiba Asia Cup.

All-tournament selections Sharne Pupuke-Robati and Tai Wynyard led the New Zealand 3×3 teams to podium finishes at the Fiba Asia Cup in Singapore.

Pupuke-Robati and the Kiwi women went on an eight-game winning streak all the way to the finals in their division, where they faced an Australian reality check in a one-sided gold medal playoff, won 21-11 by the green and gold.

Alongside Krystal Leger-Walker, Esra McGoldrick and Lauryn Hippolite, the New Zealand women played some quality 3×3 hoops throughout the tournament and were impressive during knockout time as they comfortably cleared the gold medal decider ahead of the Philippines and Thailand.

It was only their second podium finish at this event, following the 2018 gold medal. Pupuke-Robati averaged 6.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and shot 56% from the field during the main draw games to earn all-tournament selection alongside Aussies Marena Whittle, who was named MVP, and Anneli Maley.

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The New Zealand men, led by Wynyard and versatile striker Dom Kelman-Poto, were unlucky not to match their female counterparts in reaching the gold medal match, which was won 19-18 by Mongolia in a exciting semifinal after a tough quarterfinal. victory (20-18) over Iran.

But the Kiwis, with Richie Rodger and Chris McIntosh completing the lineup, bounced back to send China 21-13 into the bronze medal playoff to take their third Asia Cup medal.

Wynyard racked up 30 points and 29 rebounds in the five-game qualifiers and was joined by Delgernyam Davaasambuu of Mongolia – named MVP – and Daniel Johnson of Australia on the all-tournament roster.

Results: NZ Men: bt Tonga 20-10; bt Republic of Korea 21-13; bt Turkmenistan 21-10; bt Japan 21-10; lost to Australia 13-21. Quarterfinals: bt Iran 20-18. Semifinals: Lost to Mongolia 18-19. Third place: bt China 21-13.

NZ women: bt Tahiti 19-8; bts India 20-9; bt Sri Lanka 21-5; bt Hong Kong 9/19; bt Mongolia 17-10; bt Malaysia 21-5. Quarterfinals: bt Philippines 17-10. Semifinals: bt Thailand 21-8. Final: Lost to Australia 11-21.