HK teams defeated on day 1 of 3x3 basketball

Hong Kong's men and women lost their pool matches on Friday at the FIBA 3x3 basketball Olympic qualifying tournament at Victoria Park. Sixteen men's and women's teams from around the world, including Hong Kong, are competing this weekend for a chance to qualify for Paris. The Hong Kong men's team faced Austria in the final game of the day where they lost 10-21. The SAR with Tsoi Lung-tak, Oliver Xu, Ricky Yang and Yeung Sui-hung started strong, but Austria later pulled away. Yeung had two two-pointers and two points, but it wasn't enough. The opposing team was able to secure the rebound eight times, five more than Hong Kong, which led to their victory by 11 points. Xu said the team had some work to do before they face Netherlands and Switzerland on Saturday. "We have to work on our defence, especially on the pick and pop. Our game plan going in was not to let them make too many two-pointers, like threes, but we let them do exactly that so we have to do a better job on that," he said. "It's probably the highest level of basketball Hong Kong's ever had like in terms of overall level of players so it's also a good test for us and to see where we stand in the world, and it's just a reminder we have to get better." On the women's side, Hong Kong lost both games of the day. The team composing of Li Tsz-kwan, Ma Tan-fung, Tong Hiu-lui and Ping Chan-wai first faced top-seed Hungary, where they were defeated 7-21. The second game against Egypt led to a tie halfway, but the SAR eventually lost 12-19. "I think all athletes will assume there is a chance [to win] first, and not go in with a losing mindset. Since we are playing at home, we want to give ourselves and Hong Kong people our best performance," Li said after their final game of the day. The Hong Kong women's team face Poland on day two for their final group match. The finals will take place on April 14.