3x3 Women's Series Montreal - Day 1 Recap
From a Canadian point of view, it was clear the early September stop of the 3x3 Women’s Series was going to be, at the same time, something different and special. The team who had so far won two tournaments on the tour, and were looking for a third, had a chance to shine in front of home crowds in Montreal - which is precisely what they did.
Once again donning the Canadian uniform were the Plouffe twins, Michelle and Katherine, and Paige Crozon who were all joined this time by Catherine Traer. They would be playing in Pool A with three familiar teams, two geographically and one familiar foe from a number of prior encounters on the Women's Series so far.
When the tournament got underway, Canada did something extraordinary in their opener - hold their opponents, Mexico, to no points at all in the game. The poor Mexican team did not get on the board, unable to provide any answer for the hot offence from Canada. Michelle Plouffe had half the final total of 22 points as the team got the tournament in Montreal off to a spectacular start.
In game two against the Netherlands it was Katherine’s time in the spotlight, as she led the charge with nine points for Canada in a similarly dominant showing from the field over the Dutch. Relentless, powerful offence from Canada broke down the Netherlands' team play and they prevailed by a final score of 21-9.
They ended the day and the pool against opponents they were very familiar with: the USA. It was the most of the day for Canada, but they still had little trouble from the Americans. Michaela Onyenwere and Bella Alarie combined to try and inspire something for the USA, but it would be in vain.
With another stellar showing from Michelle, where she missed on only three occasions and dropped eight points from beyond the arc as part of her game-high 13, Canada finish off an exceptional pool stage performance with a resounding win over the USA, 21-13.
This final win puts Canada top of Pool A with a 3-0 record, as well as only one game away from the final. After their second loss of the day, after falling 16-13 to the Netherlands, the USA finish in third place with the Dutch in second.
In Pool B, meanwhile, Japan prevailed in a tight opener against Poland, then followed that up with a seven-point win over Switzerland and capped it off with a 21-2 defeat of Romania to earn passage to the semi finals. Poland secured victories in their other two games to finish second and Switzerland’s solitary win saw them place third. Winless Romania
Having earned a bye past the quarter finals, Canada’s next opponents will be either Poland or the USA when playin Montreal resumes. At the end of the day one, though, Canada are leading the stats in team scoring and Michelle Plouffe is the top scorer with 9.7 points per game. All this, as well as their determination and passion, put them poised to make the same impact on the business end of the tournament.
Check back here for a full update on day two, and visit the official FIBA website for more.
Picture: FIBA.com
