for the men, and a skills competition for the women. The USA’s Flannigan participated in
the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship dunk contest and advanced to the finals where he eventually captured the bronze medal.
Day One - September 26 The USA men got off to a dominat-
ing start, winning their first three prelim- inary round games in convincing style. The Americans opened day one with a 21-6 victory over Andorra, then rolled over China 21-9 and wrapped up the day with a 21-9 win over Bulgaria. “We got off to a 3-0 start and I
thought we played well together. We have good team chemistry, we moved the ball well, then we started to rebound and once we start moving and rebounding the leads blew open,” said Austin, who was part of the USA team that claimed a silver medal at the 2012 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship. The USA players took full advantage
of the new 3x3 rule that awarded two points for a dunk, the same amount given for a made shot from behind the arc. “It’s a big advantage, because all me
and Dominique have to do is throw it up to the rim and our bigs will go get it; Cliff and DeMonte just dunk every- thing,” continued Austin. “The atmosphere here is great,”
added Austin about playing in Jakarta. “The fans follow us around to watch us play, all of our games are packed and then after the games everybody wants to take pictures with us. We just try to come out and play hard for them.”
Day Two - September 27 It was smooth sailing for both the
USA men’s and USA women’s teams on the second day of competition. The USA women started preliminary play with three strong victories, and the U.S. men improved to 5-0 after a pair of wins. The USA women opened the competi-
tion with a 21-2 rout of Guam, then ran over Puerto Rico 21-2, and fought off China 19-16 to finish the day tied with Lithuania for first in the preliminary round Group B standings with a 3-0 record. The USA men were again impres-
sive, swamping Czech Republic 21-3, then closing out the day with a 22-1 thumping of Guatemala. The first two games for the women
100
“Today was pretty good, said the
6-foot-9 Alexander. “We just came out ready to play hard and got the wins, which are the most important
thing.” Alexander was one player who
enjoyed the new FIBA 3x3 rule that awards two points for a dunk, the same amount as is awarded for a make from behind the arc. “Yeah, I’m enjoying that. Me and DeMonte , every chance we get, we’re dunking the ball.” “It’s a lot faster and there’s a 12
Brianna Turner helped lead the 2013 USA 3x3 U18 Team to a gold medal showing and earned her sec- ond 3x3 U18 World Championship gold medal.
were unsuspenseful as the U.S. quickly took control and cruised to lopsided victories. China provided the USA women with their first test. Thanks to China’s hitting four shots from beyond the arc, it was a tight game to the end. Tied 15 all, Ogunbowale took over.
With 32.2 seconds left in the game she drove to the hoop, scored and was fouled, and after making her free throw, the U.S. had pushed ahead 17-15. China scored to cut the gap to 17-16, but on the following possession the 5-foot-9 Ogunbowale posted up her defender and scored to up the advantage to 18-16. Ogunbowale made a steal on China’s next possession, and sealed the game when she quickly found Turner inside for a basket to put the game away 19-16. “In the first two games we blew
them out. We knew China was going to be physical but I don’t think we knew they would play that good and I don’t think we knew they were going to shoot that well either,” said Ogunbowale. “My defender was my height but she
was way weaker than me and all she did was try and hold me down low so it was either a foul or I made the shot. So I just took advantage of that just because she wasn’t as strong as me and it was pretty easy to post her up.” “It’s been really fun. It’s way differ-
ent than (playing) five-on-five, but I like it more. It’s fast, people have to hold you honestly, they can’t help on anybody otherwise you’re going to have an open look, so it’s fun.” With its two one-sided wins on the
second day, the closest an opponent had stayed with the USA men was 12 points.
second shot clock,” said Alexander about playing 3x3 as compared to play- ing the traditional five-on-five. “I enjoy playing it a lot. I played back home with some of my friends at the park, but it’s nothing like this.”
Day Three - September 28 Both the USA men’s and women’s
teams suffered losses to Lithuania on day three. The women’s 11-9 setback to Lithuania came in preliminary round play and made the team’s road to gold more difficult, while the men, after rolling in preliminary round play to a Group B first place finish with a spotless 7-0 record, saw their gold medal dreams end when Lithuania handed them a 15-12 loss in the Round of 16. The USA women, carrying a 3-0
record into the continuation of prelimi- nary round play on Sept. 28, fell to Lithuania 11-9, but rebounded to defeat Spain 14-11 to cap Group B play with a 4-1 record and a second place finish. “We definitely struggled (versus
Lithuania). I think we just came out feel- ing too comfortable from the day before and we just couldn’t hit any shots. Lithuania came out playing really hard, we’re lucky it came in pool play so that we have another chance because it really helped us get better and realize what we have to do,” said Samuelson. The USA women’s team regained its
form in the 14-11 win over defending 3x3 U18 silver medalist Spain. “We were really pumped to come
out for that game because we had just lost and we were ready to play. We knew that once we got halfway through we could do this if we kept playing the same way we were. Our defense was really good and we played overall really well.” Moving into the knockout Round of
USA Basketball News
FIBA.com
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