The men’s and women’s Hoops Capital 3×3 teams are now Cairo bound after winning the Melbourne Summer Jam at the weekend.
Both teams will now represent Australia in the 3×3 Red Bull half-court World Championships.
The Hoops Capital captain Liam McInerney last week explained how the team came to exist and his recruiting process here.
The Summer Jam is structured as a long weekend event, with both the 5×5 and 3×3 seeding games taking place on Friday while the tournament took place over the weekend.
After the win, McInerney spoke with Hoops Capital media about recruiting the teams and what it means to represent Sydney on the world stage.
“It means a lot for both teams to win, it’s a really good way to get the name [Hoops Capital] name out there with both men’s and women’s basketball,” he said.
“People will be saying ‘they are off to Cairo now’, I know people from Sydney who know about the Hoops Capital now, and they are going to go back home and talk about who won the Summer Jam.
“We managed to win the grand final on a buzzer-beating three from [NBL1 import] Jerron Jamerson, and the prize was a ticket to the Red Bull World Championships in Cairo.”
McInerney not only competed but recruited both teams for the Hoops Capital. He spoke on how he recruited his two championship teams.
“The women’s team had three of our four players pull out within the last couple of weeks,” he said.
I managed to get Ashleigh Spencer [Bendigo Spirit player] and Olivia Olivia Levicki (nee Thompson) [NBL1 Central Women’s All Star Five] out of South Australia to play and they were absolutely fantastic.
One of the players on the Hoops Capital 3×3 women’s team, Tenaya Sooalo [nee Phillips] spoke with Hoops Capital media about winning and representing Sydney.
“It was a huge effort all round to push through to the very end, it was a very surreal feeling to get the win together,” she said.
“I love that we [Women’s 3×3] were given the chance to be able to showcase our skill & strengths in front of a great crowd. It was even better to be treated equally on the day, the entire event was so accommodating to all of us.
“I’m looking forward to just packing a suitcase [for Cairo] and enjoying my time away with everyone.”
Both Hoops Capital 3×3 teams will represent Australia in the 3×3 Red Bull half-court World Championships in October. Follow the Hoops Capital Instagram for updates on their progress.