Claire O'Sullivan on the magic of 3x3 basketball and battling the world's best for Ireland
Claire O'Sullivan, Grainne Dywer, Abigail Rafferty, Lynn Tunnah and Erin Maguire are part of the Irish basketball squad that took part in the FIBA 3x3 World Series.
Glanmire's Claire O’Sullivan and Fr Mathew's Grainne Dwyer are in action at the FIBA 3x3 Women’s World Basketball Series tournament Bordeaux.
It will be their fifth tournament in a very busy summer for the two Cork-based basketball players and their coach Colin O’Reilly.
They already competed in Amsterdam, Vienna, Orleans and Marseille and came close to pulling off a win a few times, but have faced some top-class teams, including the powerhouse USA, who they take on again this week.
Former Fr Mathew's head coach Niamh Dwyer is in charge of the U18 and U23 squads, who have done extremely well in their tournaments.
The 3x3 game has grown incredibly quickly over the last few years and gives players of all ages a chance to keep active in the summer months.
"It's Ireland's second year competing in the competition," explained O'Sullivan.
This year's squad is Grainne Dwyer, Maura Fitzpatrick, Lynn Tunnah, Erin Maguire, Abigail Rafferty and O'Sullivan, with four players selected to compete at each tournament.
“We started the programme in May and there are 15 stops on the tour from May until September in various places in Canada, Asia, and Europe. We will have played in five tournaments by the end of the summer this year. We competed in Amsterdam, Marseille, Vienna, Orleans and we headed to Bordeaux last week for this week's games.
"The roster for Bordeaux is Abigail, Maura, Grainne and myself. Colin O'Reilly is our head coach and the assistant coaches involved in the programme are Pat O'Neill, Hilary Nets and Niamh Dwyer.
“We are still chasing our first win of the programme between last summer and this summer. We came close with an overtime loss in Vienna.
"It is a very high level and both challenging and enjoyable playing against such talented players, many of which competed in 3x3 basketball at the Olympics last summer. We played against Team USA in Marseille and scheduled to play them again in Bordeaux.
“Unfortunately, I picked up an injury in our second tournament of the summer in Marseille at the end of May. I dislocated and fractured my finger and was I was out of action for six weeks."
She's now fully fit and looking forward to finishing the program on a high.
“Our upcoming tournament is the last of this year's program and is in Bordeaux and we are in a qualifying group with team USA and a Spanish club team called Arrasate Ointxe. There are lots of National teams as well as some club teams on the tour. Preparations for Bordeaux have gone very well for the last few weeks and we are looking forward to getting there.
“I love 3x3 basketball, as I certainly caught the 3x3 bug at my first tournament abroad in Hungary in 2015. Since then I have tried to play it at every opportunity I could.
"A highlight of mine personally was playing in Amsterdam on Museum Square in the 2017 in the 3x3 Europe Cup.
“After the Bordeaux trip, I will be back playing 5v5 team basketball and into preseason training with Glanmire ahead of the start of the season in October. It was great for me personally to keep busy over the summer months as it will be easier for me when I get back on court with the girls for the new Super League campaign."
She would advise all players to compete in 3x3 during the summer months.
"It's intense, you have to make quick decisions with only a 12-second shot clock. I think it can improve your speed and decision-making in the off-season of 5v5 so I'd definitely recommend it. There are lots of tournaments for various age groups around the country as well as opportunities to play internationally. It's fun and enjoyable playing outdoors with the music on!
"Both Ireland U18 and U23 3x3 teams have enjoyed success on the European stage this summer as well as our senior men's 3x3 team qualifying for the Europe Cup for the first time which is coming up in September.
“I think 3x3 is really going from strength to strength in Ireland at the moment and is great to see."
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