The quartet of Shanice Beckford-Norton, Abby Lowe, Shequila Joseph and Hannah Jump were on court to do the double over Germany, winning 18-15 and picking up third place.
The women, including Cheridene Green and Chantelle Handy, had cruised passed Hungary 2 (16-8) in their afternoon quarter-final, but became unstuck once again by Poland, who beat them the weekend before in Constanta, in the semis (15-18). The Poles would go on to win the tournament outright, but England stayed the course and made sure they came away with something for their efforts.
In the men's competition, England lost out to the brawn of Austria in their quarter-final, but by only the smallest of margins, losing 20-21. Overall. the team placed sixth in the competition, after conceding to Mongolia 19-21 in their tournament placing game.
After representing Great Britain at last weekend’s FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup Qualifiers, the same players - plus four more - donned England colours in Serbia to continue their preparations for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Team England started day one of the tournament with an impressive trio of wins, moving both teams onto Saturday's quarter-finals.
The women recorded wins over Germany (19-18) and Mongolia (13-12) and the men brushing aside Romania 1 21-13, with a dunk-fest, after slipping to a one-point loss to world No.1 Serbia (20-19) in their opener.
"We just missed out on a very close game against the world and European 3x3 champs, after spending a little bit of time training with them we picked up a few things and we are very grateful for their help and support. They were just a little bit too good for us on the day and kept us at bay, but we gave them a few problems with our level of athleticism - a very promising performance."
"Germany have been on the 3x3 circuit for a while and had huge wins over the last year, so for us to get a big win at the buzzer, I'm really pleased to see the progress the women have made from the Manchester camp until now.
"We have seen a lot of growth in this group and it's great to have Shequila and Abby with us. There's still a lot to learn, it's just the nuances of 3x3 that are different to 5v5, but the team are embracing them and I can see the work that we did with the Serbian national team [at a training camp] in Novi Sad has benefited the group."
Myles Hesson and Danny Evans joined the quartet of Jamell Anderson, Andre Arissol, Kayne Henry and Orlan Jackman, which went to Constanta, Romania on GB duty last week.
Shequila Joseph and Abby Lowe were added to the women's group, joining Shanice Beckford-Norton, Cheridene Green, Chantelle Handy and Hannah Jump.
Coaches Stef Collins and Julius Joseph rotated the players between games, as they continue to assess their options ahead of Commonwealth Games selection this month.
They gave them plenty to think about with committed performances against more experienced 3x3 opponents.
.
Men’s tournament teams: Serbia 1, Serbia 2, France 1, France 2, Romania 1, Romania 2, Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, England, Mongolia.
Day one fixtures: England 19-20 Serbia; England 21-13 Romania 1
Day two fixtures: Quarter-finals: England 20-21 Austrian; 5-6th play-off match England 19-21 Mongolia
Women’s tournament: Serbia U23, Romania U23, Romania, Poland 1, Poland 2, Germany, Austria, Hungary, England, Mongolia.
Day one fixtures: England 19-18 Germany; England 13-12 Mongolia
Day two fixtures: Quarter-finals England 16-8 Hungary; semi-finals England 15-18 Poland; 3rd place England 18-15 Germany
