MIAMI - The USA won a pair of medals at the 2022 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in Miami on Sunday, including gold in the men’s event with a dramatic 21-18 win against Puerto Rico. The women won bronze with a 17-13 win over Colombia.
MEN
The gold medal game featured all the drama … Lead changes. Technical fouls. Rain delays (multiple). And Jimmer.
When the weather broke for the first time all weekend, wind carried water onto the court, delaying the women’s championship game between Canada and Brazil. The men tipped off about 30 minutes behind schedule and played until the 6:25 mark when the skies opened up on an 8-7 USA lead.
Twenty minutes later, play resumed and things got interesting. By 2:42, the game was tied at 16 and the U.S. was issued a technical foul for arguing. Though Puerto Rico missed the technical, they took an 18-17 lead less than 30 seconds later.
Not to be outdone, Puerto Rico was served a tech concurrently with a shooting foul against Kareem Maddox. Jimmer Fredette hit the technical shot and Maddox made his free throw to give the U.S. a 19-18 edge.
Fans barely had time catch their breath before Fredette did what Fredette does best … shoot. Despite missing four previous 2-pointers, he connected when it counted to give the U.S. its second consecutive 3x3 AmeriCup title.
Fredette finished with five timely points, along with teammate and AmeriCup MVP Canyon Barry. Maddox closed with a personal-best nine points. Dylan Travis, making his USA national team debut next to Fredette, had two.
The USA claimed its spot in the championship with a 21-15 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. As he did throughout the tournament, Barry paced the U.S., recording a game-high eight points and scoring five straight points during a 12-0 run to give the Americans a 16-6 lead. Maddox hit the winning put-back with 41.5 seconds left.
In a game that can only be described as very physical, the U.S. men earned a tough 21-19 win over Mexico in the quarterfinals. Barry gave his team its first lead – 16-15 – at the 3:55 mark. Maddox went on to seal the win on put-back with 1:03 left.
WOMEN
Following a heartbreaking 17-15 loss to Canada in the semifinals, the United States had under an hour to regroup for bronze medal bout against Colombia. The U.S. won the game thanks to a burst of activity in the final 2:13 where they executed an 8-3 run and took advantage of Colombia’s foul trouble.
Trailing 10-9 with 2:25 left, Lexie Hull gave the U.S. a one-point edge after two successful three throws. From there, NaLyssa Smith and Camille Zimmerman combined for the final six points.
Smith, who played organized 3x3 for the first time this week, scored a game-high seven points (4-8 1PT, 3-5 FT) to go with four rebounds. The U.S. had a five-board edge – 20-15 – on the glass with each player gathering at least three rebounds. Veronica Burton had timely rebounds for each of her three on the game.
In the semifinal, the U.S. ran out of time against Canada in a back-and-forth second half. Canada’s winning points came on a pair of free throws from Michelle Plouffe, who led all scorers with eight points.
The women opened the day with an 18-11 quarterfinal win over Chile, led by six points apiece from Smith and Zimmerman.
The FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup featured 31 teams, 18 men's and 13 women's. For more information, click here.