England’s 3x3 Men’s Basketball gold medal may not have been written in the stars, but for Jamell Anderson it was inscribed on a scrap of paper he kept in his kit-bag as motivation to secure back-to-back Commonwealth Games titles.

The 36-year-old, who won gold with a different set of team-mates at Birmingham 2022, took umbrage at suggestions the defending champions may be vulnerable despite winning all their five pool games and then beating New Zealand in the semi-finals.

“Listening to the commentary when we watched the games back, I heard them saying things like, ‘Nobody expected England to beat New Zealand’,” Anderson said.

“Those were words we didn't associate with, and they motivated us to go even harder.

“We always believed, 100%. Last time, I wrote it on the board in the house. I wrote our names on the gold medal. I did the same thing this time for Glasgow 2026. As soon as we got to camp, I wrote it on a piece of paper. I've got it in my bag.”
Jamell Anderson

A classic final saw Australia build a 9-6 lead but England drew level and a crucial two-pointer from Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye gave the defending champions a lead they refused to relinquish in a helter-skelter final three minutes before winning 19-17.

“Heart, man, heart got us through,” Anderson said.

“There were loads of ups and downs but we stuck together the whole way through. We didn't fall out once. We held each other accountable.”

 

'Heart and soul of our team'

Scotland’s Men had got Hall 4 of The SEC Centre rocking from the outset by taking bronze in the opening medal match, beating New Zealand 18-16 with nine points from Kyle Jimenez, who along with Fraser Malcolm had finished fourth at Birmingham 2022.

“Kyle is the heart and soul of our team,” said Scotland’s Skyler White.

“He's our motor, he keeps us going. I'm just grateful he’s on our team because I’d hate to play against him.”

The hosts also won a superb silver in the Women’s 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball.

Led by player-coach Robyn Love, the Scots stunned 2022 silver medallists Australia in the semi-finals but were beaten 18-10 in the final by England, with Charlotte Moore, Joy Haizeldon and Jade Atkin all upgrading their bronze medals from four years ago.

But England’s Wheelchair Men had to settle for silver as Australia defended their title, with captain Luke Pople winning a second successive Commonwealth Games gold.   

“Luke is the head of the snake for us, he's instrumental,” said team-mate Tomas Klein.

“He's the one who calms us down during a timeout, organises us and pumps us up.”

 

One woman down... but Whittle steps up

That was the first of two golds for Australia, who topped the 3x3 Basketball medal table with four in all, one more than England.

Their second gold came in the final match of the night as Marena Whittle scored 15 points to lead Australia to a 21-11 victory over surprise package Uganda.

The Gangurrus’ achievement was all the more commendable given they had lost one of their quartet, Emma Clarke, to a knee injury, meaning the remaining trio of Whittle, Amy Atwell and Lara McSpadden played every minute of their semi-final and final.

“I love pressure,” said Whittle. “I love these games. I love those crucial moments. I've been in a gold-medal match before and unfortunately it didn't go our way.

"This time, nothing was going to stop me from winning gold. We weren't going to accept anything less. Whatever it took, I left it all out there.”

Uganda’s Women fell short of ultimate glory but earned a superb silver in their debut Commonwealth Games after a brilliant performance to beat New Zealand 21-9 in the semi-finals.

“I spent an hour crying just because we'd made it to the final, but after that it was time to regroup,” said Uganda’s Melissa Akullu.

“I'm just so proud of what we accomplished. Hopefully we'll be back competing for gold at the next Commonwealth Games.”

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