Two weeks after securing second place on the 3x3 circuit in Debrecen, Hungary, Team Miami captured its first FIBA 3x3 World Tour title since July with a triumph at the Kaohsiung Challenger in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Sept. 15.
This marks the first tournament victory for this iteration of Miami, which features Dylan Travis, James Parrott, Mitch Hahn and Trey Bardsley. Parrott, Miami’s versatile 6-foot-4 slasher, earned MVP honors for the first time in his 3x3 career.
The title game vs. Pirot (Serbia) showcased the best of Miami’s spirit and skill from the weekend in Taiwan. To open the championship round, the Americans overcame an early 4-2 hole to take a 9-5 lead courtesy of three points from Parrott and a 2-pointer from Bardsley.
Pirot cut it to one, but Hahn and Travis responded with four quick scores to make it a five-point affair. Following a Pirot 2-pointer, Bardsley and Parrott cashed in from the foul line to build Miami’s largest lead of the day, 16-10, before the platoon glided to a 21-13 win with nearly 4:00 left on the ticker.
Parrott led the charge with nine points, Hahn registered seven and Bardsley scored three en route to Miami’s fourth title on the World Tour of 2024.
Pitted against Kandava (Latvia) in the semifinals, Miami required every ounce of offensive energy it could muster to reach the title game. Unlike its earlier battles, however, the USA came out the gates as the unchallenged aggressor.
All four scorers scratched to give Miami a quick 7-0 lead by the 7:38 mark, but the Latvians quickly regrouped with four 1-pointers to tie it at nine two minutes later. The margin remained within one or two points for the rest of the game until Bardsley, who led the 2023 USA 3x3 Men's AmeriCup team in scoring average, scored to make it 19-16.
The Latvians pushed back, though, with a 2-point strike to make it 20-19 Miami. After committing its eighth team foul, Kandava watched as Parrott made the game-winning free throw with 39 seconds remaining.
Hahn and Parrott spearheaded Miami’s offense with eight and seven points, respectively. Bardsley poured in five and Travis snared five boards.
Before its semifinal battle vs. the Latvians, Miami earned its third win of the weekend in a neck and neck clash vs. Lausanne (Switzerland) to open knockout action in the quarterfinals. The Swiss, who began the scoring with a 2-point hit, appeared in control for the entire first half of the contest before the Americans roared back with a combination of scoring from beyond the arc and between the lines.
Lausanne made three 2-pointers in the first five minutes to outpace the USA 10-5, but Parrott countered with five points of his own in just over 60 seconds to erase the deficit and captain his group into a 11-10 edge.
The Swiss managed to flip the score back in their favor, 18-16, but Hahn and Travis could not be denied. With 33 ticks on the game clock, Hahn drilled a 2-point look to push the USA in front for good while Travis, Miami’s most decorated veteran, followed with a free throw. The quartet would walk off the half-court with a 21-18 win and spot in the semifinal.
The foursome put together a balanced offensive output throughout; Travis led the team with seven points and nine boards, Parrott added six and Hahn and Bardsley both finished with four.
Team Miami went 2-0 in pool play, topping Kuala Lumpur 20-12 in its opening game, before defeating Belgrade 21-19 Saturday afternoon.