The Dutch 3×3 basketball players were eliminated in the intermediate round of the World Cup in Mongolia on Friday. Germany was too strong with 19-18 for the Olympic champion, partly because a feat by Worthy de Jong failed this time.
Oranje was leading 16-10 with two minutes to go and seemed to be heading for a place in the last eight. But the production of the Dutch trio stalled and the Germans came alongside in the final phase.
With just over four seconds on the clock, the game was stopped, with the score at 19-18 for Germany, after which the Netherlands requested a time-out. De Jong took the floor and gave his teammates instructions.
After the break, De Jong got the ball himself and he was looking for the same kind of scenario as during the Olympic Games and earlier at this World Cup. Then there was a leading role for him with a winning point in the last seconds.
De Jong looked for the side, dodged his German opponent and aimed for a distance shot. But where his shot in Paris yielded gold, his shot in Ulaanbaatar stranded on the ring. And so this time the Germans could celebrate a small party.
Team was changed in one place
The men were condemned to the intermediate round because the Olympic champion had lost to Switzerland in the group stage.
The Dutch team has been changed in one place compared to the Paris Games. Arvin Slagter has stopped, Bryan Alberts has taken his place. De Jong still has Dimeo van der Horst and Jan Driessen as teammates.
Earlier in the day, the women reached the last eight. The Dutch 3×3 basketball players were clearly too strong for Hungary with 21-9 in the intermediate round. Australia is Oranje’s opponent in the quarter-finals.