On July 20, the Guba stage of the World Women's Series in 3x3 basketball was held.
In addition to Azerbaijan representative "Baku Flames", the U-24 national teams of Australia, the Netherlands, China, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Iran and the "Dusseldorf Zoos" club competed in the tournament. Since our main team was preparing for the Olympics, they did not participate in the Guba Series. "Baku Flames" played a very bad game and bid farewell to the tournament early.
First, let's take a look at our representative results:
Netherlands - "Baku Flames" - 21:4
China U-24 - "Baku Flames" - 21:2
Australia - "Baku Flames" - 21:3
As can be seen from the results, the team managed to win only 9 basketball points in 3 matches. This is unacceptable. True, it should be taken into account that the team was created in May of this year. However, despite the fact that several months have passed, it still has not passed the initial formation stage. It must be admitted that the opponents were quite strong and experienced. However, no one demanded the championship from them. We did not see struggle and perseverance from our basketball players. After the first game, the team appeared with the thought that "if the race was over, we would leave." We cannot expect any serious results in the future from a club without team spirit and desire.
The executive vice-president of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation (ABF) Farrukh Mahmudov told reporters that the main reason for the participation of "Baku Flames" in this tournament is to gain experience. No problem, let's wait and see. Maybe the team really gained experience and gained success in the future.
Also, I asked the official of the federation why "Khazri" and "Neftchi" will not participate in the European Cups. Because both clubs asked us to discuss this issue with the federation in response to our inquiry. Mahmudov noted that the said problem is not within their powers.
This issue is very important for the country's sports. In recent years, important work has been done for the development of basketball. Competition is increasing in the championship. Clubs are created in the regions. Basketball is more and more popular in our country. Let's hope that these works will be continued. Our teams that are successful in the Basketball League will participate in the European Cups and please the fans with their victories.