Recap: Taipei Challenger

Hey half-court hoop fans,

Welcome to the latest edition of The Drive, your inside pass to the world of 3×3, where we bring you behind-the-scenes access, game updates, and all the latest news straight from the court. Let’s dive right into the action!

Unique Challenges in 3x3

In the world of 3x3, it's a different ball game compared to the NBA, NCAA, or overseas basketball leagues. It's an "eat what you kill" sport. Teams are allocated events based on their world ranking, with higher rankings earning more opportunities throughout the year. Your performance in those allocated events determines the length of your “regular” season.

This distinction is crucial, especially as we embarked on one of the most challenging road trips of the season. Princeton hit the road, traveling from Taipei, Taiwan, directly to Neom, Saudi Arabia, for two challengers. These weren't just long travel days; they were make-or-break moments for our season. If we didn't perform well enough in the Taipei Challenger and/or Neom Challenger, our season would effectively be over.

Taipei Challenger: Oct 28th-29th

A quick note and a shout-out: The Taipei Challenger Venue was right outside the awe-inspiring Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, providing a breathtaking backdrop to the 3x3 action.

Special thanks to Dennis & Lynette Chen, the driving force in Taiwanese Basketball (3x3 & 5v5), and owners of the Hsinchu Lioneers in the P. League, a pro basketball league in Taiwan. They were incredible hosts, showing us around Taipei and treating us to some fantastic local cuisine. THANK YOU, DENNIS AND LYNETTE!!!

Zay did a great job of recapping the trip. Enjoy.

Now, let's talk results. Sometimes, it pays to be more lucky than good. Princeton wrapped up the Taipei event with a 1-2 record and a 5th-place finish after a heartbreaking loss to Amsterdam (#6 in the world) in the quarterfinals, with a final score of 21-19. Typically, this might mean we didn't do enough to qualify for the corresponding World Tour Masters (Manama). However, a stroke of luck was on our side. Since Amsterdam and Hangzhou were already qualified for the Manama Masters (Nov. 16-17), we also secured a spot. Mission accomplished - one event down, and one more event added to the schedule.

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Next up, the Neom Challenger - stay tuned for the recap.

Thanks for reading!

- Drive3×3 Team