The Ub basketball team won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3x3 Novi Sad Challenger 2026 in Serbia, after defeating fellow host team Liman with a narrow score of 20-19 in the final.
The FIBA 3x3 website stated on Monday that UB made history by winning the Novi Sad Challenger Series' first title, as it was the first time it had been held at the venue.
The title also secured UB's spot in the 2026 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Malaga in Spain, which will be held on October 10-11. They, along with Antwerp of Belgium and Fuengirola of Spain, are confirmed to participate in the World Tour series.
During the tournament in Novi Sad, Ub appeared convincing since the group phase after topping Group A thanks to wins against NY Harlem (United States) and Taipei WanBao (Taiwan).
In the knockout stage, they defeated Amsterdam Rabobank of the Netherlands 22-15 before defeating Antwerp 18-16 in the semifinals. Filip Kaluderovic scored the winning goal for Ub in the final.
He managed to score nine points, including the decisive shot 30 seconds before the end of the game.
Meanwhile, Kaluderovic's teammate, Nenad Nerandzic, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP) thanks to his impressive performance throughout the tournament. He scored 30 points, four blocks, seven dunks , and earned a player rating of 41.8.
Liman had to settle for runner-up despite consistent performances throughout the tournament. They had previously swept the group stage, eliminated Vienna (Austria) 21-16 in the quarterfinals, then defeated Fuengirola 15-14 in the semifinals, before narrowly losing in the title match.
