the tournament continued in a standard knockout format. The 2012 3x3 U18 World
Championship events also included individual skills challenges and a mixed tournament. The skills competitions
included a 3-point shootout, dunk contest and a “2 Ball” contest in which each person from a team of two athletes had to shoot from five different positions on the court in a 60-second span. The USA’s Hollis-Jefferson
earned the bronze in the dunk contest.
Under FIBA's 3x3 rules, each
game consists of one 10 minute period, and the team leading after completion of regular playing time, or the first team to score 21 points, is declared the winner. If the score is tied after regulation play has completed, one overtime period is conducted and the first team to score two points wins the game. Shots made outside the 3-point
line are awarded two points, shots made inside the 3-point line are awarded one point, and each made free throw is worth one point. Additionally, a 12-second shot clock is utilized. Each player is allowed four personal
Rondaé Hollis-Jefferson throws down two in the USA’s 21-18 win over Estonia in the quarterfinals of the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship.
fouls, and each team is allowed seven before the bonus goes into effect and one free throw is awarded. While 3x3 basketball is normally
played outdoors, rain forced the first two days to be played inside at the José Caballero Sport Centre’s Valdemoro Pavilion in Alcobendas, Spain. However, the skies cleared in time for the final day’s medal round and skills contests to be moved outside.
Day 1 - September 28 The USA women went undefeated in
the first day of competition at the 2012 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship, while the USA men won their first three contests, but dropped their last game of the day. The USA men started the opening
day with a 21-19 victory over Hungary, then took down Turkey 21-15 and edged host Spain 13-12 in overtime, before dropping a 17-14 decision to Israel to
104
finish out the day. The U.S. men finished the day in a
four-way tie atop Group D standings, along with Germany, Italy and Israel. The USA women opened with a
21-1 rout of Hong Kong, followed by a 17-10 defeat of Lithuania and capped the day by polishing off Poland 15-10. With its perfect 3-0 slate, the USA women sat atop Pool B. “Both teams started the day off
strong,” said Travis Johnson, USA Basketball 3x3 Programs Director. “The men’s team was a little new to the inter- national game and the 3x3 element, but played their teams all the way to the end. The women’s team is very, very strong. They beat Hong Kong 21-1 and their closest game was won by five points. “The atmosphere is a little different,
because it was inside due to the rain. They had it in their mind that they were playing outside. They all practiced the day before outside. All-in-all, it was a great day for both teams with the women going undefeated and the men finishing
3-1.” “(Israel) started hitting
threes (worth two points in a 3x3 game). They started out pretty good, and we were in a
dogfight the rest of the way,” said Hollis-Jefferson following his team’s lone loss of the day. “There were things we could have done better, like grab the loose balls, fight through screens, talk more on defense. That could have won us the game.” “Our strategy was to come out
first, score first and play hard the whole game,” said USA women’s team member Turner. “I think we did that pretty well. We also wanted to win all our games today and tomorrow, so we can be first in our pool and play fewer games.”
Day 2 - September 29 The USA 3x3 U18 men’s and
women’s teams each secured an important No. 1 seed heading into the medal round quarterfinals dur- ing day two of the 2012 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship. The USA 3x3 U18 men
claimed victories in all three of its games on the day to finish atop of
the Group D standings, while the USA women split its two contests but still gained the top seed by point differential between the tied teams - China and Lithuania. “There was a lot of improvement for
the men’s team today,” said Johnson. “It seemed like they got the jet lag out of their systems. They played strong in the first game (a 20-13 win against Germany), the second game (an 18-16 win against Italy) was a tough win and then in the third game (a 21-14 win against Brazil), they were struggling to get going until Brett (Brady) hit two big shots to help then build some momentum. “It was a tough loss (a 13-12 OT
loss to China) for the women’s team, and it went down to the end,” Johnson con- tinued. “Kaela (Davis) and Diamond (DeShields) fouled out as we were going into overtime, so it was Erica and Brianna against three players for China. Our girls played their hearts out, but now we have to move on to the next game
USA Basketball News
FIBA.com
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