VIENNA, Austria (June 3, 2023) – The U.S. will have two teams in the FIBA 3x3 World Cup semifinals for the second time in event history (2016). In their quarterfinal matchups Saturday evening in Vienna, the men defeated France 21-19 followed an hour later by the women overtaking Austria 21-17.
On Sunday, the women will take on China, who defeated Germany in the quarterfinals, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The men will face Brazil, who stunned Poland on a last-second two-pointer in the quarterfinals, at 10:05 a.m. ET. The 3x3 World Cup is streaming live on FIBA's 3x3 YouTube. Game times may change and can be confirmed Sunday morning here.
The semifinal berth is the first for the men since 2019 and for the women since 2016.
The American men delivered a gutsy performance in their victory over France to secure a spot in the semifinals. In their first-ever 3x3 World Cup matchup with France, the U.S. hit important shots - free throws included - and stayed tough to the end.
The USA trailed 14-13 at the 4:03 mark after four-straight points from France. From there, the Americans scored seven of the next 10 points and held a 20-17 lead with 1:59 to play. Dylan Travis missed what would have been a game-winning layup before the U.S. committed its eight penalty and conceded a pair of free throws.
A one-possession game at 20-19 USA, Jimmer Fredette drew a foul with 1:04 to play and hit a free throw to send the red, white and blue to its third 3x3 World Cup semifinals (2016, 2019).
The U.S. hit 11-of-15 shots from 1-point range and was perfect from the line (6-6 FT). Kareem Maddox hit two 2-pointer, the Americans’ only of the game. Fredette, averaging 8.6 points a game, paced the team with seven points (5-5 1FG, 2-2 FT), two rebounds and three key assists.
Canyon Barry went for six points and four rebounds, while Travis added three points and one rebounds.
Fans turned out for Saturday evening’s action in droves, with lines at the entries stretching across hundreds of people eager to get into the 3,000-person venue. As they did Friday night when the USA’s men faced Austria, the home crowd cheered their team whenever they could, and they had plenty of opportunities.
While the USA women firmly controlled the game, leading from start to finish, Austria kept it interesting in the latter stages, catching fire from 2-point range and several times answering the USA’s 1-pointers with makes from deep much to the delight of their fans.
The Americans maintained poised, staying together on defense, owning the boards and hitting 72.0% of their shots (12-19 1FG, 3-7 2FG, 3-3 FT) to get the victory on a Cameron Brink putback following her third offensive rebound and 10th overall. Brink was outstanding throughout, helping the USA to its fourth 3x3 World Cup semifinal and also recording six points and two blocks.
Hailey Van Lith led the team with eight points, while Linnae Harper added five and Cierra Burdick two points and two rebounds.
Earlier in the day, the USA earned their spot in the quarterfinal with an exciting 22-17 win over Japan in the play-in.
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A 'key assist' (KAS) is a pass that gives a teammate a positional advantage to directly score a field goal from the restricted area.