Victor Stein and his teammates Scott Morton, Christophe Laures and Sam Ferreira will represent Luxembourg at the 3X3 event in Malta. It is the first time that this discipline is a part of the games of the small States of Europe.
„I am very proud and happy to be able to play for Luxembourg. Playing and competing with all the athletes in Malta will be a lot of fun. Malta is clearly a great destination » says the 25-year old player of Sparta Bertrange.
Luxembourg has had a long preparation and 4 players were chosen by coach Vincent Gevrey to represent the team in Malta: „Our group of 9 players worked extremely hard and every single player worked in order to become better as a group which was very impressive to see. The fact that we are such a great group made it even more fun to be a part of the preparation. We received a lot of help from the federation which was also a great support for us and I am thankful to be a part of this whole 3X3 community. »
Stein and his teammates will face Andorra, Malta, Cyprus and Monaco. In contrary to a 5vs5 basketball game, multiple games will be played in one day. „The 3×3 is a dynamic, short and intense alternative to 5vs5. You have to leave everything on the court during 10 minutes or until one team reaches 21 points. We like the fact that every moment counts, a lot of discipline and reactivity is required, and that you have to be at 100% at all times. In general, I also think that the respect between players and referees is different, and the whole thing gives a familiar atmosphere. I’m generally looking forward to my first games of the small states, the atmosphere all week, and to represent my country on the international stage.“
Luxembourg used multiple scrimmages and international tournaments to find a rhythm as a team. They doi not have a lot of information about their opponents: „It is difficult to predict how strong the opponents will be, we did not really have the possibility to scout so that it will be a surprise how our opponents will play. » This fact also makes it difficult to have a conrete goal but Stein and his teammates are ambitious: „We concentrated on ourselves during the entire preparation and tried to be as good as possible. Of course we strive for the best possible result and hope to come home with a medal. »
The 3X3 event will be played on Wednesday and Thursday. A detailled program of the team will be published on our website this weekend.
