Canada Win Second Straight 3x3 Women's Series Title
With another exemplary show of teamwork and strength on offence, Canada made it two for two on tournament titles in the 3x3 Women's Series.
They came to the latest stop on the series, held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, still on a high after their inaugural victory in Prague the week before, but focused more on the task at hand. The draw had put them in Pool B, along with Russia, Italy and the Czech Republic.
With the second group contained hosts Romania as well as Poland, France and Spain, this was a highly competitive field full of seasoned 3x3 sides.
Canada opened the Bucharest tournament with a heavy defeat to Russia. Michelle Plouffe's leading offence was not enough to fight back against a near-perfect performance in the paint from the Russians, who won the game by ten points.
They made up for a disappointing start the biggest victory in Women’s Series history. Against the Czech Republic, Katherine Plouffe had ten points and Paige Crozon had a perfect game, making all of her shot attempts, as Canada took down their European opponents 22-3 after only 6:39 played - a truly astonishing show from the team.
Finally, Canada found themselves in a tough end to the group against Italy, with Rae Marie D’Alie on top shooting form as usual. She and the rest of her team, though, were outdone by the Michelle Plouffe, whose ten points helped lift Canada to victory by 17 points to 14. This saw them finish second in Pool B, earning them a quarter final spot against the third-place team from Pool A, Spain.
The Spanish had only picked up one win in Bucharest over hosts Romania, and finished third behind France and Poland, whose perfect pool record gave them a bye to the semi finals. When they met Canada, Vega Gimeno proved troublesome early and often, finding plenty of scoring opportunities from all distances.
In response Canada showed great team unity to dominate from close range and see out the victory, 17 points to 12. With this they advance to the semi finals to meet Poland - a team so far undefeated in Bucharest who, like Canada last time out, were looking to prove themselves by finally capturing a tournament in in the series.
The semi final match-up saw Poland’s top scorer Aldona Morawiec continue to be highly effective in possession, but the team found themselves undone by the Plouffes' defence. With another outstanding performance from Michelle, with 12 points and six rebounds, Canada ran out to a comfortable 21-15 win over Poland and moved on to the final.
The final would be a repeat of the first game both of the tournament and of Canada’s campaign - after the initial match-up, Russia went on to top Pool B with a 3-0 record, and after a15-10 semi final win over Italy, advanced to challenge Canada for the Bucharest tournament title.
In the title game Russia’s accuracy from long range but Canada were far more effective and consistent in the paint. Sixteen points came from one-point territory and with Katherine Plouffe taking care of defence, they were able to take control of the game.
With nine points from Michelle in the final, Canada concluded their run in Bucharest with a 21-15 win over Russia to secure their second straight title on the 3x3 Women's Series tour. With 7.5 points per game, Michelle Plouffe ended as the top scorer of the tournament.
Check back here for continued updates on their progress in the Women's Series, while more can be found on the official FIBA 3x3 Website.
