Basketball spectacle

Gold! Austria’s men are 3×3 European champions

Toni Blazan, Fabio Söhnel, Nico Kaltenbrunner and Enis Murati (from left to right)

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

The Austrian basketball players pulled off the surprise and won gold at the 3x3 European Championships in Vienna's Prater on Sunday. In the final, Nico Kaltenbrunner, Enis Murati, Toni Blazan and Fabio Söhnel dethroned the five-time series champions Serbia and prevailed 18:17 in a dramatic game. Gold in the women's competition went to the Spaniards after beating France 19:11.

"Indescribable, very few people thought we could do this before the European Championships, we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved in the last four days," said Blazan jubilantly on ORF a few minutes after the historic triumph. The long-time forward of the Gmunden Swans had only decided to switch to the 3x3 camp in the summer and is unlikely to have regretted it. A fifth place at the 2023 European Championships was the best result for the red-white-red team to date. An Austrian medal at a major event in an Olympic team sport can be regarded as particularly valuable.

Exuberant jubilation among Austria's 3x3 basketball players

(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Permanent champion dethroned
In five games in the Vienna Prater, the team only lost once in the group stage against Olympic champions the Netherlands, even without the injured Matthias Linortner, and then played their way into the final with victories over Spain and, on Sunday, Lithuania. The final was a dramatic showdown with the 3x3 team par excellence, the Serbs. They had recently won the European Championship five times in a row and had also won the two most recent editions of the World Cup.

The Serbs got off to a somewhat laborious start, trailing 2:6 after around three minutes, but gradually fought their way back into the game and finally led 15:13 at the start of the final phase of the ten-minute match. Austria, spurred on by the fans, countered in front of around 4,000 spectators and held their nerve in the final. This was Austria's second gold medal of the evening. Earlier, the wheelchair team had beaten Poland 15:14 after a dramatic overtime.