For the Austrian 3×3 basketball men, the Olympic qualification in Graz started with a defeat and a victory. Moritz Lanegger, Matthias Linortner, Filip Krämer and Fabricio Vay had to admit defeat to the world class team Latvia with 14:21 on Thursday evening. Then they fought Croatia with 18:17.
In the first appearance of the Austrians, which was postponed by three hours due to a previous storm, the Balts were the dominators on the court from the start. They moved away to 7-0 after five minutes and remained safe afterwards. The ÖBV men couldn’t get any closer than 17:13 with 1:25 minutes remaining.
“We were almost a little too motivated”
“That was one of the most intense games ever,” said the Upper Austrian Linortner. “We made life difficult for ourselves with the early deficit. We were almost a little too motivated. We have to take the game against Croatia more slowly. ”“ That was an important win, ”said Nauris Miezis, currently the world’s best player. “We have a goal that is well known,” added the Latvian.
The duel with Croatia was not for the faint of heart. Lanegger with seven and Krämer with six points led Austria to a narrow success. The team captain described the game as “not perfect, but victory is victory. We’ll have it in our own hands the day after tomorrow, ”said Lanegger, referring to the duels with the Netherlands and Canada, which are about promotion to the quarter-finals.
On Friday the tournament continues on the main square in Graz for the ÖBV women, who are unbeaten after two games. The Austrians will meet Italy (5:25 p.m.) and Spain (8:20 p.m., both live ORF Sport +). If they still manage to win, they will be in the quarter-finals.
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