FIBA 3x3 tourney brought three years of thrills to Saskatoon

Gasper Ovnik drives the ball for Team Piran.

    As soon as Adin Kavgic’s long two-pointer went in, the party was over for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament.

    The 32-year-old forward’s shot from beyond the arch finished off a 21-14 championship game victory for Slovenian’s Team Piran against Serbia’s Team Vrbas on Sunday at the intersection of 4^th Avenue and 21^st street.

    The win allowed Team Piran to take home a US$30,000 prize for first place. Team Vrbas was awarded US$20,000 for second place.

    This marked the third straight year Saskatoon has hosted a FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters stop, and Saskatoon’s three-year agreement with FIBA to hold this event has come to an end.

    The three editions of the tournament have allowed hoops fans in “The Bridge City” to see a unique brand of high-action basketball in a three-versus-three format.

Anze Srebovt passes the ball to a Team Piran teammate.

    All games go to 21 points or whatever the final score is after 10 minutes. Shots inside the arch are worth one point and shots outside of the arch are worth two points.

    There is a 12-second shot clock, and the ball has to be cleared beyond the arch. After a basket is scored, it is live for the other team to take possession where the ball falls.

    Under these rules, it feels like the play is non-stop.

    Locally, the tournament received an extra boost thanks to the success of Team Saskatoon during the first two years.

    In 2017 and 2018, Team Saskatoon was comprised of Michael Linklater, Michael Lieffers, Nolan Brudehl and Edmonton, Alta., product Steve Sir.

    Linklater, Lieffers and Brudehl are best remembered in Saskatoon for helping the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s basketball team capture their first and to date only U Sports national men’s basketball title in 2010.

    At the FIBA World Tour Masters stop in Saskatoon in 2017, Team Saskatoon made the event’s championship game falling to 21-14 to Team Ljubljana from Slovenia.

The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters stop contains a cool dunk contest.

    During that run to the title game, it felt like Team Saskatoon was experiencing a Huskies nostalgia tour. With the noise that was present, you would have thought you were at a Huskies playoff hoops game at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of Saskatchewan campus.

    The two sections of stands that are brought down from the SaskTel Centre for this hoops event were overflowing with spectators when Team Saskatoon hit the court.

    In 2018, Team Saskatoon made it to the semifinal round of the playoffs falling 21-15 to Team Novi Sad from Serbia.

    Team Saskatoon went into this year’s tournament with a revamped lineup. Linklater was the only returnee, and the 36-year-old said this year’s event in Saskatoon would be his final FIBA 3x3 tournament.

Michael Linklater in action with Team Saskatoon in 2018.

    Linklater, who also plays professionally with the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, said he will be retiring from competitive basketball once the Rattlers season comes to an end.

    Along with Linklater, Team Saskatoon’s roster contained Troy Gottselig, Willie Murdaugh and Shane Osayande.

    Gottselig was another former member of the Huskies 2010 U Sport national championship team, and he played with Team Saskatoon when it was first formed in 2010.

    Osayande was a more recent graduate from the Huskies program and currently plays with the Rattlers.

    Murdaugh, who is 49-years-old, was another former member of Team Saskatoon, who came out for a final hurrah.

Steve Sir in action with Team Saskatoon in 2018.

    Sir was still playing in the tournament with his hometown Team Edmonton.

    The new look Team Saskatoon failed to qualify for the playoff round losing both its pool play games in the event’s opening day on Saturday.  

    Team Saskatoon fell 22-18 in its first game to Team Liman from Serbia and dropped a 16-14 final to Team Kranj from Slovenia.

    While Linklater didn’t experience a storybook finish at this year’s tourney, he will go down as a player who had a huge positive impact on his First Nations community. Linklater showed what type of doors could be opened in basketball as a player.

    Despite the fact Team Saskatoon didn’t take part in Sunday’s playoff action, spectators still came out filling about 80 per cent of the stands. The local Serbian contingent vocally supported teams from their home country.

The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters tourney bring out the crowds.

    The action on the court was phenomenal with four out of the seven playoff game being decided by either one or two points.

    The dunk and shootout contests were sweet.  Justin Darlington from Ajax, Ont., won the dunk contest taking home a US$2,500 prize. Kyle Landry of Team Edmonton claimed the shootout contest to capture a US$500 prize.

    The championship game looked like it would come down to the wire as Team Piran led Team Vrbas 15-13 with three minutes to play. Team Piran closed the contest with a 6-1 run to pick up the win.

Adin Kavgic cheers his championship clinching shot.

    Guard Gasper Ovnik from Team Piran was named the MVP of the event.

    You can bet the popularity of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament played a part in the CEBL electing to put a team in Saskatoon.

    For the last two years, Saskatoon’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour stop has included a sizable beer gardens that has hosted an outdoor party.

    As the FIBA 3x3 World Tour stop was held in conjunction with the Taste of Saskatchewan festival, downtown Saskatoon became an extra busy place.

    FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament became something a sizable number of people in Saskatoon looked forward to in the summer. It could also be argued the fact it was held in “The Bridge City” for a three-year stay insured it didn’t become a stale event.

Team Piran is all smiles after a championship victory in Saskatoon.

    With three-versus-three basketball becoming a new sport for 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, that style of basketball will continue to draw interest in the future.

    The fact the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters stop enjoyed the success it did might mean Saskatoon could one day host some other FIBA event. For now, it was great to see how warmly the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament was received in this three-year run.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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FIBA 3x3 World Tour keeps Huskies alums in the game

Nolan Brudehl fires up a shot from downtown.

    A year ago, they received a well-deserved heroes’ welcome.

    Way back on March 21, 2010, Michael Linklater, Michael Lieffers and Nolan Brudehl helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s basketball team down the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 91-81 for the U Sports national title at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. That marked the first time and to date the only time the Huskies have captured a national title in men’s basketball.

    That contest was the last time that trio played together as members of the Huskies as Linklater exhausted his U Sports eligibility. Back on that day when the Huskies were crowned national champions, no one would suspect that trio would be playing together seven to eight years down the road.

Michael Lieffers looks to dish off the ball.

    In 2012, Linklater and Lieffers began playing in three-versus-three basketball tournaments and quickly qualified for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. Brudehl joined his former Huskies teammates on the circuit in 2015. Last year, they rounded out their four-player team adding Steve Sir, who is a star outside sharpshooter from Edmonton, Alta.

    Playing on the FIBA tour as Team Saskatoon, the players built a following from “The Bridge City,” who tracked their every move.

    A year ago, the foursome of Linklater, Lieffers, Brudehl and Sir finally got to play in front of a home crowd as downtown Saskatoon hosted a FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament. For the Huskies grads, it marked the first time they played together as a unit in Saskatoon since that 2009-10 U Sports national title campaign.

    When Team Saskatoon hit the court for the two-day event at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 21^st Street, the two sections of stands that were brought in from the SaskTel Centre that could seat 1,000 spectators were filled, and an overflow crowd of people circled the half court.

The local fans backed Team Saskatoon last year.

    The cheers the local team received were deafening and special all at the same time. For the trio of former Huskies, the cheers were a flashback to their days playing at the Physical Activity Complex on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan.

    The cheers carried the feelings of a thank you for the accomplishments the players brought to the city in the past. There was a feeling that it was great to see them playing in a competitive environment again and there was a will by the fans to help push the players on to greater heights in the present and future.

Steve Sir (#3) drives the lane for Team Saskatoon.

    It seemed like the feeling of attachment and support for the players was stronger than it had ever been.

    Team Saskatoon didn’t disappoint.
    They won four straight games to qualify for the tournament’s championship final. During that run, they claimed an electric 14-13 overtime victory over Team Hamilton to close the first day of competition.

    In the final, Team Saskatoon fell to 21-14 to Team Ljubljana from Slovenia.

Michael Linklater (#4) goes for a shot from beyond the arch.

    While Team Saskatoon wasn’t able to pull out a win in the final, their local follows got to see firsthand that the four players on the squad found an outlet to continue their playing careers after university. For the trio that played for the Huskies, it is normal for players that graduate from the U Sports ranks to transition to a phase of life as a non-athlete.

    A handful of grads might play in Canada’s national team system or professionally.

    Today, Team Saskatoon gets to live that experience of being the home favourites once again. Saskatoon again hosts a FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters basketball tournament with action slated to start at 12 p.m.

    Team Saskatoon faces Team Montreal at 3:15 p.m. and Team Riga from Latvia at 5 p.m.

    The tournament concludes on Sunday with all the playoff games. The action starts at 12 p.m. and the championship final is slated for 4:15 p.m.

Team Saskatoon plans to deliver thrills for the hometown supporters.

    The field at this year’s tournament is expected to be harder than last year’s event. The players on Team Saskatoon will be hard pressed to repeat their magic from a year ago.

    With the backing of a supportive and vocal hometown crowd, the local squad might ride that wave of enthusiasm to victory in Sunday’s championship final.

    If you want to follow the exploits of Team Saskatoon now and after Saskatoon’s FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters tournament wraps up, you can follow Linklater’s Instagram account at michael_linklater or his Twitter account @MrLinklater.

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    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Huskies nostalgia tour takes over FIBA 3x3 tourney

Host Saskatoon side thrills fans on run to final

Nolan Brudehl (#6) and Michael Lieffers (#5) celebrate an OT win.

    The Huskies heroes almost wrote a storybook end to a gallant homecoming.

    For a couple of days, Michael Linklater, Michael Lieffers and Nolan Brudehl seemed to relive their time playing hoops at the University of Saskatchewan. Joining forces with Edmonton product Steve Sir, the foursome made up the local entry at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament.

    The trio of Linklater, Lieffers and Brudehl were all members of the U of S Huskies Men’s basketball team that won the U Sports national championship in 2010. At the moment, that year marks the only time the Huskies in their history have won a U Sports national title in men’s basketball.

Michael Lieffers crushes a jam for Team Saskatoon.

    On Saturday and Sunday at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 21^st Street in downtown Saskatoon, droves of people turned out to see the local side play. Two sets of portable stands were brought in from the SaskTel Centre and some smaller sets of stands were built to accommodate the spectators. When Team Saskatoon played, the stands overflowed and people were jam packed in the streets leading up to the venue.

    It was obvious a lot of the locals still remembered what took place with the Huskies in 2010. A number of faces were in the crowd that are regulars at Huskies basketball games.

    When athletes graduate from the Canadian university ranks, it is not very often they continue their athletic career at an elite or high level. Moving on to another phase of life as a non-athlete is the norm.

Michael Linklater drives the lane for Team Saskatoon.

    Over the past five years, the Saskatoon side has played on the FIBA 3x3 World Tour winning two event titles and posting three second place finishes. Word spread in Saskatoon that the Huskies grads were doing well on the circuit.

    The World Tour stop marked the first time the trio would play competitive games together as a unit in Saskatoon since the 2010 U Sports championship win. There was a big curiosity factor to see how Team Saskatoon would do. Could a team made up of mostly Huskies grads stand up in an elite three-versus-three tournament run by FIBA containing some top teams from around the world?

    To the joy of the local fans, Team Saskatoon won four straight games to advance to Sunday’s tournament championship game. In the final, they fell 21-14 to Team Ljubljana from Slovenia.

Nolan Brudehl goes in to hit a layup for Team Saskatoon.

    While a victory by Team Saskatoon would have put a nice capper to the weekend’s events, the local fans had every right to leave proud knowing their side fits right in with the best the FIBA 3x3 World Tour circuit has to offer.

    When the local side hit the court for their two round robin games on the event’s opening day on Saturday, the atmosphere had a very Huskies nostalgic feel to it. The giant Huskies blow-up dog was at the entrance of a fan fest area, the Huskies had a booth in that area as well, and a number of people were wearing Huskies gear. It seemed the fans came to see the local side do all the things they used to do wearing Huskies green and white.

Steve Sir was a sharpshooter for Team Saskatoon.

    While Sir wasn’t from Saskatoon and had never been a member of the Huskies, he became an adopted Huskie when he dropped in seven points in Team Saskatoon’s 15-11 opening victory over Team Winnipeg.

    Team Saskatoon’s second game on Saturday had even more of a Huskies feel to it. The local side was introduced to the crowd pretty much in the same identical way the Huskies hoops teams are introduced for their games. The University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association handed out green and white thundersticks to the spectators.

    With the noise the crowd made, you felt like you were at a soldout or near soldout hoops playoff game at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of S campus. In that match with Team Hamilton, it seemed like the players from Team Saskatoon were trying too hard to make things happen at the start and missed a bunch of shots early on.

    After trailing early, the locals eased into the flow of the game and pulled out an electric 14-13 overtime win. When you saw the crowd rise to its feet and explode into pandemonium, it felt like the clock was turned back to the Huskies days in 2010.

    Team Saskatoon rolled off two more wins on Sunday, which featured all the playoff round action.

Michael Lieffers (#5) makes a block for Team Saskatoon.

    In the quarter-finals, the locals slipped past Team New York Harlem from the United States 17-15 and dumped Team Gurabo from Puerto Rico 21-10.

    As Team Saskatoon rolled, Sir was knocking down shots, Linklater was dishing out assists and driving to the rim, Lieffers was throwing down jams and Brudehl was scoring from the inside and the outside. They all showed great hustle on defence as well.

    A hot shooting Ljubljana squad stopped the host side’s homecoming from having a storybook ending. Tomo Cajic and Jasmin Hercegovac each scored eight points in the championship victory for the Slovenian side.

Fans salute Team Saskatoon after an OT win on Saturday night.

    Team Ljubljana, which posted a 5-0 record at the tourney, claimed a first place US$20,000 prize, and Hercegovac took tournament MVP honours.

    Linklater topped Saskatoon with six points in the championship game.
    Team Saskatoon took home a US$10,000 cheque for second.

    Overall, the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Saskatoon Masters tournament was a success in its first go.
    The overflow crowds that came out for the Team Saskatoon games ensure the stands were filled for all the event’s other matches.

The members of Team Saskatoon salute their fans.

    Organizers for the 2018 and 2019 editions of this tournament in Saskatoon have to be very optimistic about what is to come.

    For the inaugural event, the foursome that comprised Team Saskatoon made their mark.
    For the trio of Linklater, Lieffers and Brudehl, everything that happened on Saturday and Sunday had to be very spine tingling familiar.

    For a short two-day period, it was great to go back in time and relive the past.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.