With Karpenko as MVP.
The provincial men’s 3×3 U17 club championship that took place on the morning of May 1 at the La Mosca Sports Center in Málaga, with 24 participating teams and nearly 100 players, made the stands vibrate due to the very high level that the teams showed, especially the Sampedreño 3×3 team sponsored by IGGA GROUP, which overcame a 6-point deficit in the grand final to be crowned champion, thanks to an unstoppable Nicolás García Karpenko throughout the championship and MVP of the grand final.
The great celebration of provincial 3×3 U17 men’s club basketball did not disappoint the expectations of youth basketball fans. The Club Baloncesto San Pedro team was proclaimed undefeated provincial champion after defeating six teams belonging to four of the best clubs in the province of Málaga in an intense day, half from CAB Estepona and the rest from EBG Málaga, CB El Palo and CB Álora.
Since FIBA promoted the practice of 3×3 basketball in official international competitions, such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, this young and urban sport has attracted many followers due to its intensity, fast and exciting game, and because it is very attractive to the viewer. The little brother of basketball that we know is a modality that is played with a single basket and consists of three players per team. The playing surface is 15 meters wide by 11 meters long. Only one substitute is allowed per team. Each basket scores 1 point, while baskets from beyond the three-point line score 2 points. The game lasts 10 minutes and the team that scores the most points or the first team that scores 21 points before 10 minutes wins.
IGGA Group CB San Pedro provincial champion 3×3 U17 2024. – Championship poster, press release published by the Andalusian Basketball Federation (FAB) Málaga Delegation and another.
The championship
The previous phase was very disputed. The champion team sponsored by IGGA easily defeated CAB Estepona cadete 2 by 3-11 and CB El Palo 2, which was more competitive, by 12-10. The round of 16 and quarterfinal ties were spectacular. In the round of 16, the Sampedreños had to overcome a 3-7 deficit with 5:52 minutes left in the game to defeat CB Álora 10-8. And in the quarterfinals, they took the most convincing victory by 10-20 against a CAB Estepona “A” that was always behind on the scoreboard.
Photos of Karpenko playing in the quarterfinals © 2024 Ignacio García. – Photographer José Luis.
In the semifinals, the IGGA GROUP CBSP players, with the support of coach Fran Hiraldo, narrowly defeated the boys from EBG Málaga, a subsidiary of the almighty Unicaja and one of the candidate teams to win the championship. The game was dominated by the Sampedreños from the beginning. They scored during half the game, going 3-8 on the scoreboard, with 3 points and 1 shot of 3 points from Karpenko. And they defended with a good defense the final 4:25 minutes of the game, while the Los Guindos team gradually reduced the difference to the minimum. Finally, EBG Málaga was defeated 7-8 and ended its participation in the championship.
Photograph of EBG Málaga and IGGA Group CB San Pedro rosters at the end of the semifinal game. – Source: FAB. | Photography Karpenko resting before starting the grand final © 2024 Ignacio García. – Photographer José Luis.
An epic grand final
Without time to recover, San Pedro began to play the grand final against the other favorite team, CAB Estepona “B”. In the last game of the championship, the Esteponeros, more physically fit, set the pace against an opponent visibly weakened by exhaustion, going 2-8 in the first 2 minutes of the game. The same trend continued for the next two minutes, where the Sampedreños, with just enough strength, were only able to reduce the lead against them by one point on the scoreboard of 6-11. From that moment on, the best rookie in the championship, Karpenko, at only 16 years old, drew strength from where there was none, took the team on his back and began to reduce the differences on the scoreboard, with the help of his teammates in defense. Until, in the face of the madness of the Málaga fans and the impotence of the people of Estepona, the incredible Karpenko, MVP of the grand final with 10 points of his team’s 17, culminated the epic comeback by making his third triple in the grand final at 35 seconds left in the game, putting the score in favor of San Pedro for the first time, 16-15. Those from Estepona, despite being knocked out, knew how to react and managed to tie the game with 7 seconds remaining, although they could not avoid a basket in the last second that put the final score against them at 17-16 and gave them the championship victory to IGGA GROUP CB San Pedro.
Statistics from the grand final of the 2024 U17 3×3 provincial championship, with Nicolás García Karpenko as MVP. – Source: FAB.
Pass to the Andalusian 3×3 U17 Championship 2024
The champion team from Málaga, IGGA GROUP CBSP, and the runner-up team, CAB Estepona “B”, will represent Málaga in the CADEBA 3×3 U17 club category that will be held on May 25 in Andújar, Jaén. It will be the first Andalusian club championship in the 3×3 category that a team from Club Baloncesto San Pedro will play and the only one in the last 19 years, according to Fran Hiraldo: “The last time a team from the Sampedreño club played in an Andalusian club championship It was in 2005.” Congratulations!!
Photograph of the presentation of trophies to the players of the IGGA GROUP CBSP champion team and coach Fran Hiraldo, taken by the Provincial Delegate and Vice President of the FAB, D. Ricardo Bandrés Marín © 2024 Ignacio García. – Photographer José Luis.
IGGA is a company committed to sports and official sponsor of Club Baloncesto San Pedro.
