3X3

Jun 17 2026

Ireland 'looking to build' on positives from first FIBA 3x3 Women's Series outing as second event looms

Ireland 3x3 women's head coach Niamh Dwyer wants her side to 'build on the momentum' of gaining Ireland's first FIBA 3x3 Women's Series wins at the event in Orléans, with the second leg of the global tour set to take place in Amsterdam on Saturday. Ireland exited in the group stage of the main draw following defeats to Spain and Italy, but wins over Slovakia and Prague have given the squad belief that a deeper run in the bracket is possible this weekend.

Ireland led number 12 ranked Italy 16-11 with one minute on the clock in their final group game, only for the Italians to turn the screw and escape with a 17-16 victory which took them into the quarter-finals. The bare scoreline doesn't tell the full story though, as the Irish quartet of Maura Fitzpatrick, Sarah Hickey, Hazel Finn and Abigail Rafferty won two qualification games in the morning session against Slovakia (20-10) and Prague (15-14) to advance to the main draw, our first victories in the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series.

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In their third game on a warm day in France, Ireland faced the second ranked team in the world, Spain. Fitzpatrick, Finn, Hickey and Rafferty continued to show the progress of the programme as they pushed the Spainards to the pin of their collar in a 16-12 defeat.

"I was incredibly happy with how the team performed," said Dwyer. "We arrived here on the back of a tough, one-point loss in the final of FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifying and in Sarah's case, on the back of three days of games in FIBA U23 3x3 Nations League, so getting energy and performance levels back where they needed to be against Slovakia and Prague isn't easy. Picking up our first wins at this level was hugely important for the programme and the confidence of the players. I think we've shown in the games against Spain and Italy that we are ready to compete with the best, we just have to keep making the most of these opportunities," she added.

Ireland's next outing in the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series comes up quickly in Amsterdam on Saturday, where Dwyer's charges have been drawn in a group alongside Beijing and Belgium. Beijing currently sit fourth in the overall tour standings, with two top five finishes in the four events they played so far, while this will be Belgium's first event of the year. Ireland entered the standings in 29th place having played only the Orléans leg to date.