DEBRECEN, Hungary (Sept. 1, 2024) - In its first event as a unit on the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Men’s World Tour, a shorthanded Team Miami captured second place at the Debrecen Masters in Debrecen, Hungary on Sept. 1. Mitch Hahn, James Parrott and Dylan Travis teamed up to fall just three points short in Debrecen. Kareem Maddox, who was also part of the squad, was unable to compete.
After winning four straight contests to kick-start its weekend run, Miami faced 3x3 staple Ub (Serbia) in the tournament’s final contest. Spearheaded by Parrott, a 2022 USA 3x3 Men's World Cup Team member and Travis, a member of the 2024 USA 3x3 Men’s National Team, Miami remained in contention for the title up until the game’s final sequences.
Facing a 10-8 hole following a Serbian 2-pointer, Parrott went on a 7-0 run of his own to transform the early deficit into a 15-11 advantage for his squad. With four layups and three 2-pointers, Ub would rally to retake the lead and finish with a 21-18 victory after an inside score.
In a valiant effort, Parrott led the charge with 12 points and three 2-pointers while Travis netted three 2-pointers of his own for six points.
Pitted against Riffa (Bahrain) in the semifinals, Miami executed one of its most efficient outside shooting displays of the entire gauntlet to earn a hard-fought 21-17 victory and punch a ticket to its fourth 3x3 World Tour final of 2024.
Like several of its earlier battles, the score seesawed throughout the early and later stages before the Americans ultimately pulled away in the final minutes of play. Beginning at the 5:51 mark, Travis went ballistic from outside. The 2024 Olympian drilled four 2-pointers in just over 1:00 to morph a 6-6 game into a five-tally edge for Miami, 14-9.
Riffa closed the gap to make it 16-14, but Travis and Hahn denied any type of comeback on Riffa’s end. Travis notched a game-high 11 points on four made 2-pointers, Hahn poured in six points and Parrott was responsible for four scores.
Prior to its semifinal bout, Miami managed to fend off Vienna (Austria) to tip off knockout action in the quarterfinals. Hahn, a member of the 2023 USA 3x3 Men's AmeriCup Team, opened his quartet’s second day of the tournament with three consecutive 2-pointers and an inside score to lift the Americans ahead 7-1 within the first 2:24.
The Austrians, however, roared back to tie it at eight with 4:15 to go during a three-minute Miami scoring drought. Although the momentum seemed to shift, Miami continued to attack inside and capitalized when it mattered most. As the final buzzer sounded, the foursome exited the venue with a 17-15 win.
Hahn led all scorers with 11 points off three made 2-pointers and four 1-point looks. Parrott registered five points and Travis lassoed four rebounds to help propel Miami to the tournament’s final set of games.
To clinch a spot in the quarterfinals, Miami dismantled Utrecht (Netherlands) in the waning minutes to cruise to a 21-12 victory. While the final score suggests Miami routed their Dutch opponent, the first 7:28 of action proved the exact opposite.
While Parrott did score the first three points to build a 3-1 in the opening 1:30 for his crew, Utrecht put together a 6-2 run over the ensuing 2:18 to flip the score to 7-5 in its favor. Parrott answered with a 2-pointer and one-point bucket, but Utrecht floated around until Miami led 11-10 with 3:32 to spare.
Afterwards, Miami simply couldn’t miss. Fueled by four points from Travis and three each from Hahn and Parrott, Miami rattled off a 10-2 scoring surge to close the contest with a 21-12 win. Parrott captained scoring duties with nine 1-point field goals for 11 points, Travis added six and Hahn finished with four.
The ensemble’s opening match of group play featured a much more hectic back-and-forth vs. Plunge (Lithuania). After facing a quick 5-3 hole, Hahn nailed consecutive 2-point snipes to push Miami ahead 7-5 in just under 30 seconds of game clock.
Parrott followed with a 1-point bucket, but the Lithuanians countered with a series of inside aggressive scores to engineer a 5-1 surge and reestablish an edge, 10-9. From then on, the two groups traded blows and combined for six ties until the 2:28 mark.
Luckily for the Americans, Hahn and Parrott didn’t disappoint in their first action of the 2024 circuit. The two accounted for the final 13 points for Miami and managed to quell Plunge whenever it appeared to seize control of the game flow.
Knotted at 19 apiece, Parrott scored the final three points of the game to secure Miami’s first win of the weekend, 22-19. He made all nine of his 1-point field goals for 12 total points and his running mate, Hahn, scored five points of his own. Travis rounded out the box score with one point and a team-best five boards.