Yang values ‘good experience’ with 3x3

Hong Kong starting point guard Ricky Yang said he was tempted to explore more about the short version of the game after bowing out of an Olympic 3x3 basketball qualifying tournament yesterday.

The city men’s team lost to the Netherlands and Switzerland at Victoria Park on the second day of the event to remain winless, but that did not deter Yang as the Hongkonger admitted he was interested to play more 3x3.

“I am still exploring, it’s an Olympic event so I wanted to help out when called upon,” the 25-year-old said. “I would also like to see if this format suits my style of play.” Having only started playing the short version of the game in an official capacity last month, when he donned the city’s jersey at the 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore, Yang said he was starting to learn how to play it.

“I am feeling good so far [despite the lack of experience] because 3x3 is very challenging,” he said. “I started to learn about the rules from the coaches, studied about them and watched my teammates practice, so these games are very good experiences for me.”

Hong Kong lost 17-11 to the Netherlands before suffering a 21-19 defeat by Switzerland, and while Yang acknowledged their differences from elite players, the newcomer was eager to carry on.

“We can probably offset our shortcomings in physicality with better execution of switching from defence to offence,” he said. “We have less experience and we are not as quick as our opponents, but I want to try my best.”

The Hong Kong Bulls guard said: “The regular game remains my focus for now, but I am open to try more ... The more I can do it, my teammates will have easier chances to score, which also helps when we switch to defence after scoring a basket.”

In the women’s tournament, the hosts fell to Poland 17-7 to conclude their journey at the Olympic qualifiers.