Mongolian basketball players emerge as a top Asian contender

The Mongolian 3x3 basketball team returned with Mongolia’s first gold medal from the Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 16.

The Mongolian National Basketball Association and players’ family welcomed the team at the airport on April 17. The team is comprised of B.Batzolboo, B.Naranbaatar, O.Enkhbaatar, A.Sukhbat and coach S.Tulga.

The Mongolian university team played against China in the final and won 17:14.

The Mongolian team competed in Group A along with teams from Malaysia, Iran, Indonesia, China and the Philippines.

Previously, the Mongolian team won silver medals at the World University 3x3 Basketball Championships 2016 and the Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship 2015.

Member of the team O.Enkhbaatar said, “I am very happy for becoming an Asian champion. The tournament was very competitive. First we lost, but we fixed our mistake and tried very hard at our succeeding matches. The hardest match was against Indonesia. Thank you for supporting us.”

B.Naranbaatar: I participated in an international tournament for the first time and won a gold medal. The top teams in Asia competed in the Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship, and the tournament was so competitive. Everyone tried so hard.

A.Sukhbat: I am very excited we became Asian champions. I want to thank the people who helped us compete in the tournament. Our team experienced a loss and also a win. We lost the first match, but fixed our mistakes.

B.Batzolboo: We won a silver medal at the 2015 Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship. We changed the color of our medals this year. I am very happy, our dream came true. The most challenging match was against Indonesia. We defeated them. In the final, we faced China and won.

Coach S.Tulga: Our team won a silver medal at this tournament in 2015. We aimed to win this year and we did it. We won the right to compete in the 2017 World University 3x3 Basketball Championship in August. In the final, we beat powerful China. We proved that Mongolians are good at team sports. Mongolian basketball players sealed Asia with an achievement. I want to thank the Mongolian Students Sports Federation, President of the Mongolian 3x3 Basketball Federation L.Myagmarsuren, and Blue Dragon LLC for providing us with the chance to compete in the tournament.