SINGAPORE – Love was in the air as New Zealand secured a historic triumph in the Fiba 3×3 Asia Cup men’s competition after beating South Korea 21-15 on April 5, as men’s Most Valuable Player David Lewis gave a shoutout to his fiancee Aroha after the win.
The 22-year-old, who scored a game-high 10 points in the final, was close to tears when he told The Straits Times that they became engaged on Feb 13.
“She’s made a lot of sacrifices for me to be able to be here, pretty much being a single mum while I’m gone.
“I’m so blessed. She inspires me, she works so hard and she’s got her hand in a lot of things. Being able to go home with the gold, its really satisfying, and it means I’m not doing work for nothing.”
Around 8,000 fans had packed The Kallang’s OCBC Square across five days of competition – the event will move to Mongolia after being staged in Singapore for five years – and many more were peering out of the Kallang Wave Mall’s second-storey food court terrace to catch a glimpse of the knockout rounds on the final day.
In 3X3, which is played on a half-court, every made basket inside the arc is worth one point, and every successful shot behind the arc is worth two. The first team to score 21 points, or the side with more points at the end of the single 10-minute period, win.
And the supporters were not disappointed with the fast, furious, and physical action, with South Korea’s Lee Ju-yeong sustaining a cut lip following a stray elbow in their 18-15 win over the Philippines in their men’s quarter-final earlier in the day.
The 22-year-old was sent to hospital and he missed his team’s 21-15 win over China in the semi-finals but rushed back to play in the final and contribute three points before returning to the hospital for stitches.
