• French 3×3 basketball players were crowned World Cup winners this weekend, but a few days later the second World Series tournament for women’s teams started in Poitiers, France. Unlike the men’s tour, the women’s tournament is mainly played by national teams. The German national team won the first tournament in Tel Aviv, leaving behind the Lithuanian and French teams.
• The Latvian national team did not take part in the World Cup, but in France it wanted to prove itself by attracting 5 to 5 players of the basketball team, which was already talked about by the head coach of the 3×3 national team Ainārs Zvirgzdiņš. The Latvian national team in the tournament is represented by Aleksa Gulbe, Paula Strautmane, Anda Kuzmina and Paula Mauriņa.
• The Latvians already faced a serious test in the first game – a fight with the US national team. The Americans defeated the Turkish team in the first game with 21:10. The game started with Kuzmin’s successful pass and Gulbe’s accurate half-throw. The Americans responded with a three-point breakthrough, which was stopped by Mauriņa at the bottom of the basket (3: 3). After two and a half minutes of play, Gulbe gave up a two-point walk, which briefly restored the leadership of the Latvian team.
• The US team managed to score three points in a row again, but this time Mauriņa did not realize his pass at the bottom of the basket. After an accurate long shot, the Americans took the lead with 10: 6. Then Gulbe made a long shot, but the Latvians did not succeed in a bigger breakthrough. Both teams started making mistakes more often, but neither of them scored points. The final three minutes of the game started with a four-point lead for the US team, but then rose to five (14: 9).
• Strautmane, who tried to throw quickly but did not have a trajectory to drop the ball in the basket, was not successful. Latvian basketball players fought hard in defense, but that was not enough. The last minute started with a four-point deficit, but Gulbe took only one of two free throws. The US national team managed to keep the victory, the Latvians acknowledging the superiority of their opponents with the result 12:15.
• The Latvian national team will play the second game of group C at 22:30, meeting with the Turkish team. It will be a fight for a place in the quarterfinals. All games in the World Series can be seen on the FIBA 3×3 YouTube channel.
World Series 3×3 Women’s Basketball Group C.
Latvia – USA 12:15
Latvia: Gulbe 9, Mauriņa 2, Kuzmina 1, Strautmane (7 ab)
ASV: Richardson 6, Harpere 5, Berdika 2, Wales 2
