ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - USA (men) and France (women) showed out, finishing pool phase perfect on Day 3 of the FIBA 3x3 World Cup on June 25.
TEAMS
USA (men)
Despite a scintillating start to their campaign on day 1, team USA somehow managed to kick it up another notch to close out pool play.
They took on a lights out Latvia side. It’s always a tall order to take on the 2020 Olympic Gold Medalists.
A close game right down to the wire, it came down to a heat check from Dylan Travis who put up 3 twos in a row to close out a 21 - 18 win.
They handled business again, this time against an aggressive Montenegro side. It was a Real Dyl takeover as he put up a whopping 13 points to secure the 21 - 13 result in favor of the Americans.
A perfect 4-0 record and momentum on their side, the reigning World Cup silver medalists will look to turn their fortunes this time and take home gold.
FRANCE (women)
Speaking of reigning silver medalists, France came out swinging as well. They cleaned house on day 1, but had stiff competition to face today
Taking on Canada in their opener, it was a back-and-forth affair, ending with a bucket from Camille Droguet game winner to seal the 14 - 13 win.
They faced Latvia next who came into the tournament as potential dark horses. They couldn’t hang with France this time around though as another collective scoring effort led Les Bleus to an 18 - 14 victory.
The French seem to be rolling as they head into pool play with a perfect record.
PLAYERS
DYLAN TRAVIS (USA)
The real Dyl was on a tear today.
His back-to-back-to-back twos in the clutch against Latvia proved to be the deciding factor.
He followed that up with an incredible 13-point scoring effort in their closing tie against Montenegro to seal the top spot in pool play.
His efforts defensively and hustle plays continue to be salient points for Travis. His all-round impact makes him an undeniable force and one of the key reasons for team USA’s success so far in the competition.
ALEX WILSON (USA)
The Gangurrus were dominant as ever and it was Alex Wilson at the helm of it.
They handily dealt with Madagascar in their first game of the day, a 21 - 5 result where Wilson notched a team-high 8 points.
They faced off in a close battle with Italy next and once again, came out on top. Wilson put up 10 points in the decisive game that handed them the top spot in the pool with a perfect record.
Her impact for the Aussies is crucial to their success and they’ll be hoping for more of the same heading into the Quarter-final.
WHO’S IN
On the men’s side, team USA were joined by Switzerland who had clutch wins against the Netherlands and Lithuania to clutch top spot and a place directly into the Quarter-finals.
Japan, Latvia, Spain and the Netherlands will compete in the play-in to earn their spot into QF action.
On the women’s side, Australia and France earned their place directly into the Quarter-final while Hungary, Canada, Poland and China will compete in the play-in to earn their spot into the next round.
DAY 4
We close our pool play tomorrow as we find out our bracket heading into the next round. Catch all the action LIVE on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube channel.