World Jam 2015

Hosted In Las Vegas,USA Held October 2015 16 Teams Held at the Dynn Casino Complex Champions - Great Britain Runners Up - Spain Semi Finalists - USA and Puerto Rico Finals MVP - Ambrose Slade

World Jam was the inaugral 3v3 international tournament, hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the first time that a 3v3 streetball tournament featuring FBA players had ever been achieved. The tournament was in a shortform format, with the first team to 50 points winning the game. 32 teams attempted to qualify but only sixteen reached the World Jam Finals. For the purposes of this first tournament, qualifiers were also held in Las Vegas.

History

During the end of the 2015 season, a strike involving the FBA players and controllers of the FBA left a new season in doubt, at best delayed and at worst cancelled. Spying an oppurtunity to make an entreprenerial move to make roads into international basketball and to utilise FBA players on strike and not currently covered by contract thanks to red tape, James Dynn (owner of the Las Vegas Wildcards and casino congolomerate owner) went about organising an international tournament like no other - and World Jam was set up. The relative ease of getting three players together made getting a vast number of teams interested in the tournament a cinch, and a fervour instantly kicked in amongst fans around the globe about the possibile dream match ups. Much of the early furore was about the potential for a USA vs Canada and a match up between Shane Rufus (in his last games) and Rocky Caracal. Many teams from around the globe chose their three players, but others put their team selection up for nomination, including USA, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Russia and China. The FBA voted in their droves and the starting threes were selected. At the start of the process, not a single ticket had been sold and no television coverage had been agreed, giving the tournament a rebellious edge like no other, which undoubtedly appealed to fans. By the tournaments end, games were sold out in the rooftop stadium at the Dynn Complex, and a deal reportedly worth a few million dollars had been signed with TV companies. Dynn is now in negotiations for further tournaments with the next one pencilled in for Jakarta, Indonesia. In future, the 16 FBA finalists in any given year will be put into a hat and pulled out, with the country pulled out hosting the next tournament.

Teams

Argentina – Seba Kosiciuko (Williamsburg Minutemen), Esequiel Cajeta (Seattle Summit), Antonio Garza (Hawaii Kahunas) Australia – Barnaby Jazz (Las Vegas Wildcards), Bobby Rae-Brine (Montana Howlers), Alan Murphy (Pittsburgh Keystones) Brazil – Juniper Hill (Baltimore Spirits), Jorge Vilata (D-League), Gonçalo Trabuco (Fortaleza SC) Canada – Rocky Caracal (Edmonton Totems), Yves Carbonneau (Winnipeg Voyagers), Charles Yotechuk (Retired) Colombia – Teo Masalia (Hawaii Kahunas), Julia Fernandez (Free Agent), Daniel Garcia (Villavicencio) China – Li Ho Fook (Las Vegas Wildcards), Redawn Fenwatcher (San Jose Thrust), Cho Song-Hwa (Queens Pride) DR Congo – Kwaku Bbwaddene (San Jose Thrust), Zuri Afolayan (D-League), Cesar Zakandi (Etoile Fatima) Egypt – Georgette Hawyer (Seattle Summit), Mahmud Zarif (Pittsburgh Keystones), Godric Jafet (Free Agent) Finland – Luukas Hirvonen (Edmonton Totems), Otto Okkonen (Williamsburg Minutemen), Eetu Aalto (Helsinki Norsemen) France – Blanc Mange (Bangor Tides), Julian Cross-Kiraly (Hawaii Kahunas), Renard Antouille (Lorain Firestorm) Germany – Klaus Korber (Tallahassee Typhoons), Siegfried Romanaren (Edmonton Totems), Dirk Von Stryker (Winnipeg Voyagers) Great Britain – D’Angelo McQuilkin (Hunstville Mayors), Jake Turner (Seattle Summit), Ambrose Slade (Alaska Arctics) Greece – Gorge Pappamalous (Lorain Firestorm), Paramonimos Konstantidis (Alaska Arctics), Nektorios Straka (Free Agent) India – Mathiyazhagan Balasubramaniam (Baltimore Spirits), Bali Mahi (Tennessee Moonshiners), Shubra Rajni (Pittsburgh Keystones) Indonesia – Cliff Matthews (Alaska Arctics), Aditya Anggun (Santa Ana Spectrums), Tasya Fangetsu (Jakarta) Ireland – Mikaylah Marley (Williamsburg Minutemen), Jacob McLee (Lorain Firestorm), Morgan McCarthy (Arizona Whips) Italy – Alessandro Serra (Alaska Arctics), Daius Aurelias (Santa Ana Spectrums), Ain Iannizzi (Santa Ana Spectrums)* Jamaica – Zoie Wilds (Winnipeg Voyagers), Treshaun Carnell (Seattle Summit), Hammond Macey (Kingston Town) Japan – Ren Inoue (Tallahassee Typhoons), Shirley Takamoto (Pittsburgh Keystones), Keitaro Kurosaki (Dakota Bikers) Mexico – Marcella Oliviera (Williamsburg Minutemen), Javier ‘Flash’ Villagomez (D-League), Zoraida Soto (Academica Mexico City) The Netherlands – Christiaan Hengst (Santa Ana Spectrums), Moki Ixtlahuac (Biloxi Voodoo), Andreas Van Agteren (Utrecht) Peru – Adolfa Girau Girau (Free Agent), Rudy Pimona (Free Agent), Cooper Frizell-Ibañez (Matamoras College, NY) Poland – Jaeger Lewandowski (Free Agent), Alec Kustowski (FSKA Moskva), Jakob Bosko (FSKA Moskva) Puerto Rico – Vera La Tierra (Williamsburg Minutemen), Ricardo Rodrigues (Montana Howlers), Carol Quinones (Heraklion Warriors) Russia – Kasa Yalenchka (Plymouth Taproots), Vladimir Andreiovich Zhidkov (San Jose Thrust), Sasha Ivanovich (Albany Alphas) Slovenia – Stefan Kikovic (Queens Pride), Nebojša Elkasevic (Tallahassee Typhoons), Mila Pisarović (KK Ljubljana) South Africa – Leonardo De Hugo (Lorain Firestorm), Gerrit-Jan Pretorious (Plymouth Taproots), Dennis Xabbu (Tennessee Moonshiners) South Korea – Derek Kim (Winnipeg Voyagers), Lee Jin-Sung (Albany Alphas), Lim Poong (D-League) Spain – Elisa Lawless (Dakota Bikers), Balthasar Torrealba y Toboso (Huntsville Mayors), Diego Imperio (Montana Howlers) Sweden – Sterling Bengtzing (Montana Howlers), Saga Ström (Pittsburgh Keystones), Hedvin Eklund (Tallahassee Typhoons) USA – Shane Rufus (retired), Nina Lime (Plymouth Taproots), Rodger Umaechi (Albany Alphas)

• Ain Iannizzi replaced Adriana Ramaglia (Giugliano Calcio) in the main tournament.

Qualifying

Prior to the tournament, the 32 teams were ranked from 1-32, and the top four were automatically qualified for the tournament. These records were based on international competition prior to World Jam rather than the quality of the players themselves, which led to some controversy when Spain were seeded in the initial rankings. After some negotiations, it was decided the final top four were USA (hosts), Canada, Germany and Russia.

Another group of teams were deemed to be the eight worst and would have to play an extra round of qualification. The remaining 20 teams would join the four winners in a series of 12 playoffs in the second round of qualifying to join USA, Canada, Germany and Russia in the World Jam Finals.

1ST ROUND QUALIFYING DRAW

​Mexico (M. Oliveira, F. Villagomez, Z, Soto) VS Cameroon (O. Okayu, R. Hounsou, C-A Priso)​ ​The Netherlands (C. Hengst, M Ixtlahuac, A. Van Agreten) VS Peru (A. Girau Girau, R. Pimona, C. Frizell-Ibanez)​ Colombia (T. Masalia, J. Fernandez, D. Garcia) VS Poland (J. Lewandowski, A. Kustowski, J. Bosko)​ Congo (K. Bbwaddene, Z Alofayan, C. Zakandi) VS Brazil (J. Hill, J, Vilata, G. Trabuco)​

1ST ROUND RESULTS

Colombia 50 - 35 Poland​

Masalia 22, Fernandez 21, Garcia 10 ~ Lewandowski 22, Bosko 8, Kustowski 5 Player Of The Game - Jaeger Lewandowksi (Poland)

​Netherlands 44 - 51 Peru​

Hengst 23, Ixtlahuac 15, Van Agreten 6 ~ Pimona 22, Girau-Girau 21, Frizell-Ibanez 8 Player Of The Game - Rudy Pimona

Mexico 51 - 40 Cameroon​

Villagomez 18, Oliveira 17, Soto 16 ~ Okayu 20, Hounsou 12, Priso 8 Player Of The Game - Zoraida Soto (Mexico)

​Congo 33 - 51 Brazil​

Alofayan 16, Zakandi 12, Bbwaddene 5 ~ Hill 29, Vilata 15, Trabuco 7 Player Of The Game - Juniper Hill

2ND ROUND QUALIFYING DRAW

Finland (Hirvonen, Okkonen, Aalto) vs Mexico (Oliveira, Villagomez, Soto)​ ​China (Fook, Fenwatcher, C-S Hwa) vs Indonesia (Matthews, Anggun, Fangetsu)​ ​Puerto Rico (La Tierra, Rodrigues, Quinones) vs Ireland (Marley, McLee, McCarthy)​ Great Britain (MacQuilkin, Slade, Turner) vs South Korea (Kim, J-S Lee, Poong)​ South Africa (De Hugo, Pretorius, Xabbu) vs Japan (Takamoto, Inoue, Kurosaki)​ Slovenia (Kikovic, Elkasevic, Pisorevic) vs Argentina (Kosiciuko, Cajeta, Garza)​ Peru (Girau-Girau, Pimona, Frizell-Ibanez) vs Italy (Serra, Aurelias, Ianizzi)​ ​Egypt (Hawyer, Zarif, Jafet) vs Jamaica (Wilds, Carnell, Macey)​ ​France (Mange, Antouille, Cross-Kiraly) vs Colombia (Masalia, Fernandez, Garcia)​ ​India (Balasubramaniam, Mahi, Rajni) vs Sweden (Bengtzing, Strom, Eklund)​ Greece (Pappalomous, Konstantidis, Straka) vs Australia (Jazz, Rae-Brine, Murphy) ​Brazil (Hill, Vilata, Trabuco) vs Spain (Lawless, Toboso, Imperio)​

2ND ROUND RESULTS

Finland 51 - 37 Mexico​

A plucky Mexico side ultimately give way to a classier Scandinavian outfit in this exciting encounter.

Hirvonen 30, Okkonen 14, Aalto 7 ~ Villagomez 17, Soto 14, Oliveira 6 Player Of The Game - Luukas Hirvonen (Finland)

​Puerto Rico 51 - 20 Ireland​

An embarrassing shocking decimation for a young and promising Irish side by the spectacular Puerto Ricans.

Quinones 22, La Tierra 18, Rodrigues 10 ~ McLee 10, Marley 8, McCarthy 2 Player Of The Game - Carol Quinones (Puerto Rico)

Slovenia 52 - 56 Argentina OT

Cajeta scores winning basket in overtime after closest match in WJ Qualifying so far. Slovenia so very close to making the tournament.

Kikovic 21, Elkasevic 14, Pirosevic 10 ~ Kosciuko 20, Garza 14, Cajeta 12 POTG - Seba Kosiciuko

Peru 49 - 52 Italy

Plucky Peru catch Italy snoozing but Serra makes his mark just in time to save Italian blushes.

Pimona 25, Frizell-Ibanez 17, Girau-Girau 7 ~ Serra 22, Ianizzi 18, Aurelius 12 POTG - Alessandro Serra

Egypt 59 - 56 Jamaica OT

The Jamaicans nearly saved by a Zoie Wilds supershow taking the game to overtime, but a workmanlike performance from Egypt gains a shock win.

Zarif 35, Jafet 15, Hawyer 9 ~ Wilds 36, Carnell 17, Macey 5 POTG - Mahmud Zarif

France 52 - 30 Colombia

A super team performance from the French gave little room for Colombia to create openings and class shone through overall.

Mange 22, Cross-Kiraly 15, Antouille 15 ~ Masalia 11, Garcia 10, Fernandez 9 POTG - Blanc Mange

India 50 - 43 Sweden

A rejuvenated Moby shows what he has against a young Swedish team who held well but lacked consistency. Mahi wins it with a 3 pointer.

Balasubramaniam 28, Mahi 14, Rajni 8 ~ Strom 17 Bentzing 15, Eklund 11 POTG - Mathiyazhagan Balasubramaniam

Brazil 46 - 51 Spain

After a great start Spain very nearly blow it, but rallying with eleven points in a row saves it for the Spaniards.

Vilata 16, Trabuco 15, Hill 15 ~ Toboso 26, Lawless 15, Imperio 10 POTG - Balthazar Torrealba y Toboso

South Korea 44 - 51 Great Britain

Despite some obvious tiredness and jetlag, and some good work from the Koreans, Team GB never looked troubled.

MacQuilkin 18, Turner 17, Slade 15 ~ Kim 22, J-S Lee 14, Poong 8 POTG - Jake Turner

China 43 - 50 Indonesia

A flashy solo start from Li Ho Fook is not enough as Anggun and Matthiews grind down the Chinese to reach their first international tournament.

Fook 26, C-S Hwa 10, Fenwatcher 7 ~ Matthiews 22, Anggun 18, Fangetsu 10 POTG - Li Ho Fook

South Africa 37 - 50 Japan

Japan comfortably ensure their place in World Jam with this clever performance, their pace too much for the lions of South Africa.

Xabbu 19, De Hugo 8, Pretorious 8 ~ Takamoto 24, Kurosaki 14, Inoue 12 POTG - Shirley Takamoto

Greece 33 - 50 Australia

An inspired Barnaby Jazz performance and the Aussies canter to victory over Greece and book the last spot in World Jam!

Paramonious 15, Straka 12, Pappalomous 6 ~ Jazz 28, Murphy 11, Brine 11 POTG - Barnaby Jazz

The Finals

Group Stage

USA 9 PUERTO RICO 6

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ITALY 2 ARGENTINA 1

Argentina – Seba Kosiciuko (Williamsburg Minutemen), Esequiel Cajeta (Seattle Summit), Antonio Garza (Hawaii Kahunas) Italy – Alessandro Serra (Alaska Arctics), Daius Aurelias (Santa Ana Spectrums), Ain Ianizzi (Santa Ana Spectrums) Puerto Rico – Vera La Tierra (Williamsburg Minutemen), Ricardo Rodrigues (Montana Howlers), Carol Quinones (Heraklion Warriors) USA – Shane Rufus (retired), Nina Lime (Plymouth Taproots), Rodger Umaechi (Albany Alphas)

USA 50-45 Argentina - Umaechi 25, Lime 15, Rufus 12 ~ Kosciuko 24, Garza 14, Cajeta 7, POTG - Rodger Umaechi Puerto Rico 50-40 Italy - La Tierra 25, Rodrigues 15, Quinones 10 ~ Serra 25, Aurelias 12, Iannizzi 3, POTG - Vera La Tierra USA 50-40 Puerto Rico - Rufus 24, Umaechi 20, Lime, 6 ~ La Tierra 15, Quinones 14, Rodrigues 11, POTG - Shane Rufus Argentina 53-56 Italy (OT) - Kosciuko 30, Cajeta 14, Garza 9 ~ Iannizzi 28, Serra 16, Aurelias 14, POTG - Ain Iannizzi USA 50-32 Italy - Lime 22, Umaechi 22, Rufus 8 ~ Serra 16, Iannizzi 8, Aurelias 8, POTG - Nina Lime Argentina 49-52 Puerto Rico - Kosciuko 24, Garza 15, Cajeta 10 ~ Quinones 26, La Tierra 13, Rodrigues 13, POTG - Carol Quinones

Group B -

JAPAN 6 FRANCE 6

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CANADA 3 EGYPT 3

Canada – Rocky Caracal (Edmonton Totems), Yves Carbonneau (Winnipeg Voyagers), Charles Yotechuk (Retired) Egypt – Georgette Hawyer (Seattle Summit), Mahmud Zarif (Pittsburgh Keystones), Godric Jafet (Free Agent) France – Blanc Mange (Bangor Tides), Julian Cross-Kiraly (Hawaii Kahunas), Renard Antouille (Lorain Firestorm) Japan – Ren Inoue (Tallahassee Typhoons), Shirley Takamoto (Pittsburgh Keystones), Keitaro Kurosaki (Dakota Bikers)

Canada 42-50 France - Yotechuk 23, Carbonneau 14, Caracal 5 ~ Mange 19, Cross-Kiraly 17, Antouille 14, POTG - Julian Cross-Kiraly Egypt 23-51 Japan - Zarif 16, Hawyer 6, Jafet 1 ~ Takamoto 22, Inoue 18, Kurosaki 11, POTG - Shirley Takamoto Canada 47-50 Egypt - Caracal 23, Carbonneau 15, Yotechuk 10 ~ Hawyer 26, Zarif, 24, Jafet 0, POTG - Georgette Hawyer France 36-50 Japan - Mange 25, Cross-Kiraly 9, Antouille 2 ~ Inoue 23, Takamoto 16, Kurosaki 11 POTG - Ren Inoue Canada 51-41 Japan - Carbonneau 30, Yotechuk 14, Caracal 7 ~ Takamoto 20, Kurosaki 15, Inoue 6, POTG - Yves Carbonneau France 51-43 Egypt - Mange 27, Cross-Kiraly 13, Antouille 11 ~ Hawyer 23, Zarif 17, Jafet 3, POTG - Georgette Hawyer

Group C -

GREAT BRITAIN 9 SPAIN 6

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GERMANY 3 INDIA 0

Germany – Klaus Korber (Tallahassee Typhoons), Siegfried Romanaren (Edmonton Totems), Dirk Von Stryker (Winnipeg Voyagers) Great Britain – D’Angelo McQuilkin (Hunstville Mayors), Jake Turner (Seattle Summit), Ambrose Slade (Alaska Arctics) India – Mathiyazhagan Balasubramaniam (Baltimore Spirits), Bali Mahi (Tennessee Moonshiners), Shubra Rajni (Pittsburgh Keystones) Spain – Elisa Lawless (Dakota Bikers), Balthasar Torrealba y Toboso (Huntsville Mayors), Diego Imperio (Montana Howlers)

Germany 44-50 Spain - Korber 27, Romanaren 14, Von Stryker 3 ~ Toboso 27, Lawless 15, Imperio 8, POTG - Balthasar Torrealba y Toboso Great Britain 51-32 India - Turner 32, MacQulkin 14, Slade 5 ~ Rajni 14, Mahi 10, Balasubramaniam 8, POTG - Jake Turner Germany 51-54 Great Britain (OT) - Romanaren 20, Korber 18, Von Stryker 13 ~ Turner 30, McQuilkin 14, Slade 10 POTG - Jake Turner Spain 50-27 India - Toboso 25, Imperio 14, Lawless 11 ~ Balasubramaniam 14, Mahi 11, Rajni 2, POTG - Balthasar Torrealba y Toboso Germany 50-32 India - Von Stryker 23, Korber 20, Romanaren 7 ~ Mahi 12, Balasubramaniam 10, Rajni 10 POTG - Dirk Von Stryker Spain 26-52 Great Britain - Toboso 20, Imperio 4, Lawless 2 ~ Turner 31, McQuilkin 15, Slade 6, POTG - Jake Turner

Group D -

AUSTRALIA 7 FINLAND 6

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INDONESIA 3 RUSSIA 2

Australia – Barnaby Jazz (Las Vegas Wildcards), Bobby Rae-Brine (Montana Howlers), Alan Murphy (Pittsburgh Keystones) Finland – Luukas Hirvonen (Edmonton Totems), Otto Okkonen (Williamsburg Minutemen), Eetu Aalto (Helsinki Norsemen) Indonesia – Cliff Matthews (Alaska Arctics), Aditya Anggun (Santa Ana Spectrums), Tasya Fangetsu (Jakarta) Russia – Kasa Yalenchka (Plymouth Taproots), Vladimir Andreiovich Zhidkov (San Jose Thrust), Sasha Ivanovich (Albany Alphas)

Russia 32-52 Indonesia - Ivanovich 15, Yalenchka 14, Zhidkov 3 ~ Matthiews 23, Anggun 16, Fangestu 13, POTG - Cliff Matthiews Australia 50-38 Finland - Murphy 23, Jazz 16, Brine ~ Hirvonen 21, Okkonen 11, Aalto 7, POTG - Alan Murphy Russia 53-50 Australia (OT) - Yalenchka 22, Zhidkov 22, Ivanovich 9 ~ Jazz 29, Murphy 11, Brine 10, POTG - Barnaby Jazz Indonesia 28-50 Finland - Matthiews 11, Anggun 10, Fangestu 7 ~ Hirvonen 35, Okkonen 12, Aalto 3, POTG - Luukas Hirvonen Russia 36-50 Finland - Yalenchka 18, Zhidkov 16, Ivanovich 4 ~ Hirvonen 30, Aalto 15, Okkonen 5, POTG - Luukas Hirvonen Indonesia 41-51 Australia - Anggun 16, Fangestu 14, Matthiews 11 ~ Jazz 26, Brine 14, Murphy 11, POTG - Barnaby Jazz

QUARTER FINALS -

USA 50-30 France Rufus 26, Umeachi 17, Lime 7 ~ Mange 22, Cross-Kiraly 4, Antouille 4 - POTG - Shane Rufus

The USA crowd are thrilled as Shane Rufus rolls back the years with this awesome performance that decimated France despite Mange efforts.

Japan 35-51 Puerto Rico Takamoto 16, Inoue 12, Kurosaki 7 ~ La Tierra 38, Rodrigues 9, Quinones 4 - POTG - Vera La Tierra

God mode Vera propels Puerto Rico into an unlikely semi final in this stellar performance.

Great Britain 51-32 Finland Turner 24, Slade 18, McQuilkin 9 ~ Hirvonen 18, Aalto 10, Okkonen 4 - POTG - Jake Turner

Finland stop the super hot Firefox running riot, but ultimate the Brits are just too good for the Finns.

Australia 29 - 50 Spain Jazz 11, Brine 10, Murphy 8 ~ Imperio 23, Lawless 18, Toboso 9 - POTG - Diego Imperio

The pre-match build up was all about Barnaby Jazz, but shockingly it was Diego Imperio who stamped his authority before bursting into tears at the final whistle and his career defining performance.

SEMI FINALS -

USA 61 - 65 Spain (OT) Lime 27, Umaechi 22, Rufus 12 ~ Lawless 25, Imperio 24, Toboso 16 - POTG - Elisa Lawless

An epic game for the ages, which saw Spain take a sstrong lead, before a great comeback from USA. The match went to Spain, but no-one deserved to lose it what would end up beind Shane Rufus' curtain call.

Puerto Rico 51-54 Great Britain (OT) Quinones 22, Rodrigues 17, La Tierra 12 ~ McQuilkin 25, Turner 22, Slade 7 POTG - Ricardo Rodrigues

The British team were nearly stunned by a cavalcade of threes from Rodrigues and an 'unfortunate' incident that saw McQuilkin get a muzzle full of vixen cleavage, but a quick three 30 seconds into overtime from Turner won the game.

THE GRAND FINAL -

Great Britain 50-45 Spain Slade 26, Turner 13, McQuilkin 11 ~ Lawless 22, Toboso 14, Imperio 9 - POTG - Ambrose Slade

Spain lead by ten points early on, and look like maintaining their lead to bring in a shock 66/1 outsider win, but the Brits show their class and grind them down thanks to Ambrose Slade. It goes to the wire, but Imperio misses a vital two which rebounds off the rim and straight to Slade who dunked the ball empathically to make Great Britain the first ever World 3v3 Champions.

Great Britain vs Finland Australia vs Spain