Canada 3x3 up to 3-1 in Pool Play after two games on Thursday

Canada dropped their first game against Germany but came back to win against hosts France in day three of 3x3 Pool Play.

Olympic 3x3 Basketball pool play is cruising along and Canada had its first two-game day on Thursday in Paris. The squad of Katherine and Michelle Plouffe, Paige Crozon, and Kacie Bosch went into Thursday undefeated at 2-0 after winning games against China and Australia in previous days.

Canada could not catch up with Germany

First up in the day was a game against a tough German team, which they lost 19-15. Canada did not come out with their usual burst of energy, and that mixed with the German defence and low shooting percentage of the Canadian resulted in them dropping the game. The Germans got out to a 6-0 start, and Canada was not able to recover.

Katherine and Michelle Plouffe each scored 5 points, Paige Crozon scored 4 and Kacie Bosch had 1 point.

Neither team went into the bonus in this game, but Canada did get called for 6 fouls over Germany’s 3 fouls.

Germany was ranked 4th coming into this competition, and Canada ranked 5th, so it was bound to be a close match. Canada could not linger on the loss too long though, because they played again later in the night against France.

Looking like themselves against the hosts

It’s common to play multiple games in one day in 3x3 basketball, so it was not too big of a deal for Canada to have two games — but it’s still tiring. Still, they had to rally, especially since playing France meant the home crowd would be against them.

Canada got out to a strong start in this game, similarly to the first two games. They stayed consistent on defence against the French, who could not get a bucket for most of the first half of the game. France also racked up fouls faster than Canada, and ended up in the bonus in the final minutes, allowing Canada to create a wider gap in the score.

It still was not as high scoring of a game as Canada had in previous games this week. They won 13-9, and none of the Canadians scored more than 4 points. Crozon and Katherine Plouffe had 4 each, Michelle Plouffe had 3, and Kacie Bosch had 2 points.

Still, they held strong and didn’t let France take advantage of a low scoring game, and still came out with the win.

Wrapping up Pool Play

Canada has three games left in Pool Play, and while they have not officially clinched a spot in the knockout rounds yet, they are in a good spot. Now with their record of 3-1 in the pool, Canada sits in 2nd in overall rankings.

The one team ahead of them is Australia, who is also 3-1 (the one loss was against Canada), but has scored 3 more points in the tournament over Canada, putting them in first place. Three points is not a huge margin to make up in this game though, and with many games still left to play, a lot can still change in the standings.

In their first game of the day tomorrow, Canada will face the United States. Now, Team USA is the reigning Gold Medalists in this event and came into the competition ranked no.2, but have not been performing like it. Mind you, the team is completely different than it was in 2021, and also different than when the roster was announced in June.

Unfortunately Cameron Brink suffered a torn ACL while playing for the LA Sparks in the WNBA, pulling her out of the Olympics. She was replaced by her LA teammate Dearica Hamby. While Rhyne Howard is currently playing in the Olympics, she was also injured in June while playing for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA. The other two members of the team are long-standing 3x3 player Cierra Burdick, as well as NCAA college standout Hailey Van Lith.

This combo of players has not played much in 3x3 competition together, and that may be why they are struggling as a team in Paris, when all other countries have been preparing with these rosters. Now, each player on Team USA is still a very skilled basketball player, so don’t count them out. Plus, the desperation to improve their score and get into the next stage of the tournament will be on their minds. They won their first game on Thursday against Spain, and are now 1-3 in the standings.

Canada will play Spain later Friday afternoon, who have a record of 2-2 so far in Paris and sit behind Canada at no.6 in the pre-tournament tournament rankings. Canada needs to continue their strong starts, physical defence, and rack up some points early on against both of these teams.

Their last game of pool play will be against Azerbaijan on Saturday. That team has WNBA player Tiffany Hayes on the roster, who announced her retirement after last season but came back this year to sign with the Las Vegas Aces.

Canada’s fate will be decided through these last games, but as it stands, they should make it into the next round. Still, the higher you are ranked, the better your seeding/positioning gets, so it’ll be pedal to the medal for the rest of the group stage.

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Up Next for Canada Basketball:

Men’s 5x5:

Friday August 2nd, 11:15am, vs Spain

Women’s 3x3:

Friday August 2nd, 12pm, vs USA

Friday August 2nd, 3pm, vs Spain

Women’s 5x5:

Sunday August 4th, 7:30am, vs Nigeria