Basketball
Estelle Centerstam, 2022 Swedish Red Bull Half Court winner, shares her top tips ahead of this year’s playoffs. And explains why her Half Court journey has blown her away.
Hassle your friends to start a team, practice the evening before, win the whole thing. It might sound too good to be true but it is actually exactly what happened to basketball player Estelle Centerstam at last year’s Red Bull Half Court tournament in Sweden. Taking the big win also meant she and her team got to go represent Sweden at the world final in Egypt - an experience she’ll never forget.
Ahead of this year’s Red Bull Half Court tournament she shares her top three tips on how to maximize your game out on court and why entering Red Bull Half Court was one of the best experiences of her life.
Want to know which teams will be heading to the world final later this year? Keep track on the National winner results page.
01
Centerstam’s top 3 tips
- Just go for it! Games are so short so you’ve just got to dare go hard from the start. There are no bad shots - remember that.
- Communication is key! Communicate with your team-mates. Getting synced and learning what kind of game your team-mates normally play is super important. Talk about tips and tricks and what kind of strategy to have.
- Use your substitutions! You might think that 10 minutes sounds short, but when you’re only three players, playing in the sunshine and with no long throw-ins, it’s really hard work. Make sure to use your subs and swap out players to rest. Also, working on your fitness ahead of the tournament is a good shout.
02
Why you should play 3on3 streetball
A fast-paced game with a focus on scoring as many buckets as possible, Red Bull Half Court is all about maximizing time on the court. And, as Centerstam discovered last year, it’s also really good fun. Playing 3on3, rather than 5on5 like in normal basketball, on half a court and with games lasting only 10 minutes makes for a crazy intense game of streetball. But not just that, as Centerstam realized, it also comes with an amazing atmosphere, relaxed vibe and fun play.
“It’s such a nice vibe at 3on3 games. There is music on and if you’re not playing you can watch multiple games happening at the same time. It feels fun and like there is less pressure then when you play 5on5,” she explains. “We'd obviously do everything we can to win, but it feels more exciting and you just go for it.”
It’s such a nice vibe at 3on3 games
Centerstam grew up playing basketball for Alvik, where she stacked up some pretty impressive merits on her CV, like winning the Swedish Youth Championship. Today she plays her fourth season for Borås, a team she's helped take from basketettan – Sweden's third-tier pro league – to the national basketball league. However, 3on3 has been something new and exciting, but it has also meant adjusting her game to suit the format:
“The game itself is a lot faster and you can definitely not just stand around chilling. You've got to be on it all the time. There is a lot of one-on-one defense and as body contact is allowed it means the game is a bit tougher, something I really like because I’m pretty short and that way I can push a bit harder against the taller girls.”
03
You don’t have to be a 3on3 expert to win
Don’t be fooled by how pro Centerstam sounds when it comes to 3on3 – the year before her Half Court win she was a complete newbie to the format. She’d watched games before but never played, as she struggled to get a team together. So when she found out about Red Bull Half Court coming to Sweden and that whoever won the tournament got to go play the world final in Egypt she burst into action and started hassling all of her friends to come play with her.
“We had no expectations at all, we just thought it was a cool thing to do,” she says and explains how she met up with her team-mates Amanda Tivenius, Emelie Ånäs and Evelyn Ovner on the evening before to plan their game.
“Amanda had played a few times before, so she gave us some tips and tricks ahead of our first game. And I’ve got to say, we played incredibly well from the get-go, especially as we’d never played together as a team before. We had so much fun.”
04
Playing in the world final is a once-in-a-lifetime experience
On fire from the start, Centerstam and her team carried their momentum all the way to the end, winning the Swedish tournament. That meant, next up was the world final.
“It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done and I’ll remember it for ever. The whole thing was so sick. I’d only ever played in Sweden before and it was so much fun meeting other players from around the world.”
It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done and I’ll remember it for ever
It was, of course, intimidating to play some of the world’s best 3on3 players and Centerstam admits she had some self-doubt, but her team-mate Tivenius was confident. “Amanda got us all in the right frame of mind and it actually went a lot better than expected. You see the other players and you think 'wow,' but actually, we often had better technique and tactics.”
You see the other players and you think 'wow,' but I actually think we often had better technique and tactics
Deservingly, the team made the quarter finals, but that’s where their journey ended. “We just didn’t play very well. Maybe it was lack of routine, maybe it was just one of them days. That’s how it goes sometimes, but it’s made me even more hungry to participate again this year.”
And if she makes it to the world final again, her goal is set high: “If we make it, I really believe we can make it even further in the world final.”
Everything you need to know about the 2023 edition of Red Bull Half Court can be found here.