Harbour players Karl Noyer and Marco Alexander heading to 3x3 World Cup in France.

 

 

The New Zealand team headed to the Men’s FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Nantes, France beginning on Saturday contains two North Harbour players.

 

Guards Karl Noyer and Marco Alexander compliment the forward combination of Aaron Bailey-Nowell (Taranaki) and Angus Riley (Nelson/Bryant University, USA) in the four man squad.

 

The naming of the team follows the International Olympic Committee announcement last week that 3x3 will be an Olympic sport for Japan 2020.

 

Head Coach Anthony Corban says the World Cup will be an exceptionally challenging event now that the three man game has been given more prominence with its new Olympic status.

 

“There’s no doubt that 3x3 has continued to rise in popularity and FIBA have thrown an exceptional amount of resource to grow their international 3x3 events. These are well produced, action-packed tournaments. The 3x3 game is fast, slick and perfect for spectators because of the entertainment factor. And with the International Olympic Committee making 3x3 an Olympic sport, international federations will surely be throwing even more weight and funding behind their 3x3 programmes.”

 

Corban is pleased to have both Harbour players in his team.

 

“This will be Marco’s international debut but he has 3x3 history. He trained with the team that I took to the Gold Coast, two years ago, and I believe he is the ideal 3x3 point guard. He has been a Tall Black trialist and an NBL player for a number of seasons.

 

Noyer first played for New Zealand at the FIBA World Championships in Russia in 2014, and again in China in 2016. He represented three Quest tour teams at three FIBA World Tour Masters events and coached the 2016 New Zealand 3x3 Tertiary Team. To top it off, Noyer was also a member of the winning teams of the Burger King 3x3 Quest Tour in 2015 and 2016.

 

“Karl has been in this programme dating back to Moscow in 2014. His experience will be vital in this group. He is an international-class shooter and when the winning team is the first to 21 points, you need a talent that can score from outside the arc,” said Corban”

 

 Noyer is well known in Harbour basketball circles as both a player and a coach. He is the currently at the helm of the Harbour Under 16 team that recently qualified for Under 17 Nationals.

 

I caught up with the 29 year old shooting guard the day before he boarded a flight to France and fired a few questions his way.

 

Q As a player what are the key differences between the 5 man game and 3x3?

 

KN It is definitely more fast paced with lots of short sharp movements. One of the reasons I am in the team is that I can shoot the three that in 3x3 is worth 2 points (all other shots are worth one point). With a squad of just four you are guaranteed to play and there is nowhere to hide when you are out there. In addition there is more space, as obviously there are only six players in the half court as opposed to ten in the traditional game. It is easier to score but therefore harder to defend.

 

Q Is 3x3 purely an offensive game?

 

KN No defence is important particularly defending the shooting from beyond the arc. If a team scores five baskets from outside they are quickly on ten points so you have to run them off the three point line. This is particularly important at international level where teams have a lot of good shooters.

 

Q What are the expectations and goals for this tournament?

 

KN Our goal is to go further in the tournament than previously. In China we didn’t make the quarter-final and in Moscow we lost to Rumania in the round of sixteen. The first objective will be to get out of our pool by beating three of the four teams.

 

Q NZ, seeded 12^th, are drawn against USA (seeded 4^th), Netherlands (5^th), Indonesia (13^th) and South Korea (20^th) in pool play. Do you know anything about these teams?

 

KN I’ve played against some of the USA players and also the players from the Netherlands in tournaments on the World Tour. We don’t know so much about Indonesia and Korea but expect both to play a fast paced game.

 

 

Q Do you have ambition to be an Olympian in 2020 when 3x3 will be played for the first time?

 

KN For sure! Yes definitely but I also realise a lot of other players will make themselves available for selection. We would have a pretty awesome New Zealand team if everyone were available.

 

Q FIBA rank you as the No 1 3x3 player in New Zealand, how is that ranking assessed?

 

KN The ranking system is straightforward, the more tournaments you play the more ranking points you accumulate. The harder tournaments also carry a heavier loading so a local community event in New Zealand may carry a 3 out of 10 loading but the World Champs will be 10 out of 10.

Put another way the players in the winning team at the World Cup will receive 144,000 ranking points. The winners of a local tournament on our own BK tour receive 3,000 points.

 

Q Finally what would your advice be to players thinking of playing 3x3?

 

KN Definitely give it a go, the more players and teams that get involved the better, as it will make tournaments in New Zealand more competitive.

 

For full coverage of the 3x3 World Cup go to:

http://www.fiba.com/3x3worldcup/2017