Kerry’s Leonard named in Ireland squad

Kerry’s Ryan Leonard has been named in the Ireland men’s provisional squad for FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifying next weekend.

The Limerick Sport Eagles player is joined on the panel by Jordan Blount, who played Super Legue with Flexachem KCYMS the past two seasons.

Claire Melia returns to the Ireland women’s squad for their qualifiers, also next weekend.

Full press release:

Claire Melia included as Ireland squads announced for FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup Qualifying
05/06/26
Jordan Blount and Matt Treacy aim to win the event for the second year in a row.

Claire Melia returns to 3×3 for the first time since the summer of 2024.
Ireland women’s 3×3 head coach Niamh Dwyer has named Claire Melia in her squad for Ireland’s upcoming FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup qualifiers in Kosovo on June 13th. Melia, who hasn’t featured in the format since 2024, is joined by Domino’s Women’s Super League Young Player of the Year Hazel Finn, Caledonia Gladiators’ Maura Fitzpatrick and Abigail Rafferty in a strong Irish quartet for the event in Prishtina.

Jordan Blount and Matt Treacy have been included in the Ireland men’s provisional squad by head coach Darren McGovern, as they return to the scene of their success a year ago. Their 21-19 victory over Cyprus booked a FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup finals place for an Irish men’s team for the first time. Limerick Sport Eagles’ Ryan Leonard, Ireland U23 3×3 international Jamie Muldowney and Lucien Christofis – who most recently played for Akranes in Iceland – have also been selected ahead of a training camp in Serbia.

Ireland’s women will be aiming to bounce back from a group stage exit following losses to Cyprus and Malta last year and with a third FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Series campaign on the horizon, head coach Niamh Dwyer will see this as a good opportunity to start a busy summer on a positive note. Melia, making her first appearance at the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup Qualifier event since 2024, is a big addition to the roster following a strong season with BAXI Ferrol, while the experience of Maura Fitzpatrick on the FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Series, will also prove crucial.

Hazel Finn and Abigail Rafferty excelled in the FIBA U23 3×3 Nations League in 2025, helping Ireland to second and third place finishes across three tournaments. Rafferty, who has just completed her first season with Gdessa in Portugal, also featured in two stops in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Series in Bordeaux and Órleans. Finn’s offensive and defensive quickness translates well to the 3×3 format and she will enter the tournament high on confidence after leading Trinity Meteors to a Domino’s Women’s Super League.

Blount and Treacy will be keen to experience a second FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup following last September’s exploits against Olympic medallists Netherlands and Latvia at the finals in Copenhagen. Ireland will enter the qualifying repechage as the top seeds and with expectations of being in the frame for qualifying once again.

Ireland’s men will begin with a repeat of last year’s decider against Cyprus, before taking on Kosovo to determine the group’s top seed, while Claire Melia’s first game back in this format will be against Kosovo on Saturday, June 13th.

What is the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup?

The FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup is the European Championships of basketball’s 3×3 format. It brings together 12 teams who qualify for the tournament either through their FIBA World Ranking or through qualifying events throughout the year. Ireland men qualified for the first time last year. Ireland’s women last qualified for the finals in 2015.

This September will be the 11th edition of the competition, taking place in Antwerp, Belgium.

The 3×3 basketball format is a fast-paced game played on a half-court, three players per team, with a 12 second-shot clock for 10 minutes. The winning team is the first to 21-points or the team with the most points when the 10-minute period is up.

The qualifiers allow only one team to qualify per gender. The men’s format allows the top two teams in the groups to advance to the semi-finals, where ultimately the winner of the final goes to Antwerp. The women’s format is slightly different, where the competition will be played in a single round-robin pool, with the top team securing qualification.

You can find the competition portal here.

Ireland 3×3 Squads
Men’s Provisional Squad:

Jordan Blount (Flexachem KCYMS), Matt Treacy (Skallagrimur, Iceland), Jamie Muldowney (Coker University, USA), Ryan Leonard (Limerick Sport Eagles, Lucien Christofis (Akranes, Iceland).

Women’s Final Squad:

Hazel Finn (Trinity Meteors), Claire Melia (BAXI Ferrol, Spain), Maura Fitzpatrick (Caledonia Gladiators, UK), Abigail Rafferty (GDessa, Portugal)
Ireland Fixtures
Men’s Group Fixtures:

Ireland v Cyprus, Saturday, June 13, 5:45 pm, Pool A
Ireland v Kosovo, Saturday, June 13, 9:40 pm, Pool A

Women’s Group Fixture:

Ireland v Kosovo, Saturday, June 13, 10:05 pm, Pool B

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