– Brazil men, women take silver

By Rawle Toney in Miami
(Compliments: National Sports Commission & Guyana Lottery)

IT was an exciting climax to the inaugural FIBA AmeriCup 3X3 Tournament in Miami, Florida. However, when the dust settled, it was the men and women representing Stars and Stripe who were crowned champions.

The USA defeated Brazil in the Men’s and Women’s final at Bayfront Park last evening, while playing in front of a vociferous crowd.

In the women’s action, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player, Brionna Jones, carried the Americans in the game against Brazil, which they won in dominating fashion, 21 – 9.
Jones, who was awarded the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award this season while playing for the Connecticut Sun, topped all scorers with seven points in the finals.

Haley Gorecki, Blake Dietrick and Cierra Burdick, the other women on Team USA, also turned in sensational performances in the tournament.
For the Brazilian women – Lays da Silva, Sassa Fausto Goncalves, Vitória Marcelino and Thayná Silva – it was an end to what was an entertaining campaign.

Meanwhile, in the men’s tournament, the match-up lived up to the hype that surrounded the game, the USA and the Brazilian men were the only two undefeated teams in the tournament.

However, the tournament’s eventual MVP, former Phoenix Suns and OKC Thunder shooting guard, Charlie Brown Jr, brought his ‘A Game’ and, along with Trey Bardsley, Kareem Maddox and Canyon Barry, carried the USA to a 21 – 15 win.

William Weihermann, Jefferson Socas, Leonardo Branquinho and André Ferros of Team Brazil settled for second place.
The FIBA AmeriCup tournament was the first-of-its-kind in the Americas.

Guyana’s men’s and women’s team participated with mixed results; the women’s team advanced to the Main Draw while the men’s side were eliminated in the qualification stage.