Baku, Azerbaijan, June 22
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
The players of 3x3 Basketball, Orla O'Reilly from Ireland and Angel Santana Castillo from Romania who will compete within the First European Games shared their impressions about Baku and the overall event.
They spoke at the press conference in Baku.
O'Reilly in particular said Baku was a beautiful city, and the efforts that gone into preparing for the Games are just over the top. She also added that it is an incredible experience for athletes.
In turn, Angel Santana Castillo said he was happy to be part of the Games, adding that Baku is a beautiful city with really friendly people.
Talking about the Azerbaijan's National basketball team, he expressed the confidence that it will be one of the top teams.
Basketball 3x3 is a variation of the basketball played on a half court with both teams shooting on the same hoop. Each team consists of three players and one bench player. The sport made its first appearance on the international stage at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Within the first European games this innovative sport gathers 32 teams, with 128 athletes competing in the men's and women's tournaments that will each conclude with a gold medal game. The competition will take place from 23-26 June 2015 at the open-air Basketball Arena in the European Games Park.
The European Games that kicked off in Baku June 12, will last till June 28. There is a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports.
More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe came to Baku to represent their nations over 17 days of competition. Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.