Ariel Wins Out On Final Day To Claim USA Basketball Men’s 3x3 National Championship Title, Takeover Goes Undefeated To Win Women’s Crown
Women's 3x3 National Championships as the men’s and women’s respective winners would also earn a trip to Russia to represent the United States at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship.
T Tipping off on May 10 at the
U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the 2014 USA Basketball Men's and Women's 3x3 National Championship featured 11 3x3 men’s teams and six 3x3 women’s teams vying for the opportunity to represent the USA at the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championship.
Following the two days of
3x3 action, Ariel for the men and Takeover for the women were crowned the 2014 USA Basketball National Champions, and as the winners both teams earned the right to represent the United States in Russia at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship.
The victorious Ariel team
included Thomas Darrow (Newport, Calif.), U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan (Arlington, Va.), Craig Moore (New York, N.Y.) and Jitim Young (Chicago, Ill.).
Takeover team members included
Cierra Burdick (Tennessee/Charlotte, N.C.), Sara Hammond (Louisville/Mt. Vernon, Ky.), Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame/ Lincolnwood, Ill.) and Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina/Charlotte, N.C.).
Day one of the 2014 USA
Basketball Men's and Women's 3x3 National Championships featured preliminary play and only two men’s teams finished the day undefeated, while one women’s team also closed out day one without a loss.
Elite in men’s Group A compiled a
5-0 mark but had to battle to earn its wins, winning two games by a single point and another contest by three points. In men’s Group B, Pluto finished 4-0,
98
here was plenty on the line at the 2014 USA Basketball Men's and
with one of his teammates from the 2013 USA Basketball 3x3 National Championship, Dorian Smith, as well as newcomer Brandon Jefferson, who was the 2014 NCAA Division II Player of the Year
Above (L-R): Ariel, comprised of Arne Duncan, Craig Moore, Jitim Young and Thomas Darrow, won the men’s championship. Below (L-R): Takeover team members Cierra Burdick, Jewell Lloyd, Tiffany Mitchell and Sara Hammond went undefeated to claim the USA Basketball women’s 3x3 title.
as a senior at Metro State University. “So this year, we are trying to make that step and make it to the final round. B.J. is our new addition. He was the Division II Player of the Year, so it's a pretty big addition.” In the women’s competition,
Takeover, whose closest win was an 11 point victory, dominated and cruised through the round- robin preliminary round with a spotless 5-0 record. “Man we’re some charac-
ters,” remarked Burdick when asked about her team. “We’re competitive; we love this game; we’re in love with it. We’re
grateful for the opportunity. We’re just having a good time and trying to win everything, we’re extremely competitive and we’re cheering each other on, we want to see each other be successful. “It’s a lot faster, and a 12
and like Elite, won its share of down-to- the-wire games, claiming wins by one, three, four and seven points. “It went pretty good,” said Elite’s
Miller about the first day of competition. “We finished the day undefeated. We had a couple of tough games. My favorite game was playing against Mr. Duncan. We played them first today. It's very competitive. We are playing as one, and with this, that is all that matters. If you get everybody on the same page you can do some amazing things. Our focus for tomorrow definitely is communication. With us being one of the smaller teams, we have to communicate with switches and everything. “Last year, we were 5-0, on the first
day, and we lost in the first round of the playoffs," recalled Miller, who was back
second shot clock is unbelievable, you don’t how fast it really goes by until you actually get out there
playing,” she added. “The pace of the game is the biggest difference but also the physicality. The refs are letting you play out here, and they let you play that way internationally as well.” Concluding the championships on
May 11, Ariel, despite suffering a pair of losses in preliminary round play, won out to capture the 2014 USA Basketball Men’s 3x3 National Championship. On the women’s side, Takeover
continued to roll and sailed past all opponents and finished 7-0 to win the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s 3x3 National Championship. Ariel started its quest to the title by
earning a 21-14 victory over Northwestern Mutual Foundation in
Continued on page 100 USA Basketball News
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