SALVADOR – The 3rd day of the 2nd WUC 3×3 Basketball 2014 finished Saturday 20 September with 6 countries (Argentina, France , Brazil, Italy, Serbia, China) moving forward to today’s semi-finals. The finals will happen right after the semis, also in the morning.
The 1st male semi-finalist to be known was Serbia, the current champion and ex-host of the inaugural WUC in 2012, won the quarter-final against Israel by 18:13.
The 2nd semi-finalist came from a tough match between Brazil 2 and France. The French team worked hard to get over the crowd pressure and defeated the host country, 21:15. Now, France will have the task to try stopping Serbia of a repeat.
The other men’s playoffs had Argentina beating Romania 15:12 and Brazil 1 making the crowd happy with a victory against China 1, 21:12. Now, both teams will face a classic South-American decision in the semi-final 2.
In the women’s quarter-finals, China 1 beat Uganda 21-9 and qualified for the semi-final 1. Italy and China 2 played the other playoff with a victory for the Italians 17:14, who are the defending women champions from 2012. France won against Brazil 2, 21:02 and fight for a spot at the final with Brazil 1 that defeated the Israeli girls by 14:09 at the last quarter-final of the day.
After the playoffs, the individual competitions started. At these challenges players can show their basketball skills. It’s also a break and fun moment in contrast with the stress of the tournament.
The women started first with the shootout challenge. Each girl had to shoot the ball inside the basket in a certain period of time. Alessandra Tava from Italy was the most successful one. Zheng Ying from China, got silver and Ana Cautu from Romania, bronze.
“I always watch the individual competitions of the NBA. It is really fun. I wanted to try it again here in Brazil, since in 2012 I did not do well in Serbia and now surprisingly I finished in first place. So I’m very happy and motivated now for the semi-final tomorrow “, Alessandra commented.
Next, the girls met together with men for the free throw pursuit challenge. Only one girl made to top 3, Franciele Nascimento from Brazil who gained the bronze medal. Wu Di from China finished with the gold and silver went to Thomas Laurent from France. This Sunday, after the men’s final, the male players will have one more chance to get medals at the dunk competition.
The 2nd WUC 3×3 Basketball 2014 can be watched on the official livestreaming: cbdu.org.br or wc.cbdu.org.br. More information, pictures, videos, can be found on our social media platforms: facebook – WUC 3×3 Basket 2014 or CBDUBrasil and results updated game by game on twitter: @WUC 3×3 Basket 2014 and @CBDU.
Semi-finals Schedule 21.09.14 Local Time
10:00 Women’s SF1 – France x China 1
10:30 Men’s SF1 – France x Serbia
11:00 Women’s SF2 – Brazil x Italy
11:30 Men’s SF2 – Brazil x Argentina
Finals Schedule
12:00 Women’s Bronze medal
12:30 Men’s Bronze medal
01:00 Women’s Final
01:30 Men’s Final
(Source: Everton Melo, CBDU Press Officer)