USA and Russia begin 3×3 play 2-0, Jill Biden and Macron attend
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron in the stands to watch the USA vs. France women’s 3×3 game in the Group A pool round #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/K3DwYVbW8C
— Hoopfeed.com ? (@hoopfeed) July 24, 2021
The debut of 3×3 basketball began on a high note for Russia and the USA as the teams went 2-0 in the first 24 hours of competition. Russia and Japan had the honor of playing the inaugural game. The host country failed to secure a victory and the Russians came away with a 21-18 victory led by Olga Frolkina who scored seven points. Her sister Evgeniia finished with three points. Russia also took down China 19-9 with Olga once again leading the way with seven points.
The U.S. opened play against top-seeded France and beat the French 17-10. The game had megawatt personalities in the stands as First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron attended. Both dignitaries cheered for their respective teams and Macron rushed over to greet and chat with the French players postgame.
Team USA’s Kelsey Plum expressed the sentiments of her colleagues.
“What an honor and what an opportunity to play in front of the First Lady,” Plum said. “We are excited to get the win for her. We asked her to come back, so hopefully she has time for us. I loved it. As soon as we walked out, we saw her in the stands. She waved and she brought all the energy, so we are grateful for that.”
Biden also attended other events during the day, getting a warm reception from athletes.
The U.S. followed up its first outing by trouncing Mongolia 21-9. Dolson, Gray and Plum average 6.0 points per game so far. Dolson also accumulated 10 rebounds over the two contests.
The 3×3 action continues through the weekend and pool play finishes up on Tuesday. The semifinals also begin that day. The gold and bronze medal games are set for Wednesday, July 28.
USA Roster: Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky), Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), and Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces). Young was added to the team after the withdrawal of Katie Lou Samuelson due to illness from Covid-19.
Results So Far
- Russia 21, Japan 18
- China 21, Romania 10
- Russia 19, China 9
- Japan 20, Romania 8
- Italy 15, Mongolia 14
- USA 17, France 10
- USA 21, Mongolia 9
- France 19, Italy 16
Olympic 3×3 Rules (Full rules on Olympics.com)
- The 3×3 Olympic tournament takes place on one main court at Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo.
- Coaching is not allowed during games. The USA coach is Kara Lawson (Duke University head coach/2008 Olympic gold medalist).
- 1 hoop, 1 half court, 2 teams of 3 plus 1 sub.
- Two-point shot: Shooting and scoring a field goal from anywhere outside the arc line or from the two-point zone wins the team two points. These are referred to as two-pointers.
- One-point shot: If a field goal is scored from inside the arc or the one-point zone, it is worth a single point.
- 12-second shot clock.
- No break after scoring, no halftime, no quarters.
- Game is over at 21 points.
- First team to 2 points wins OT.
- Music during play.
Olympic Competition Format (per FIBA)
- At the end of pool play, the teams ranked 7th and 8th are eliminated.
- Those who finished 1st and 2nd are directly qualified for the semi-finals.
- Those who finished 3rd to 6th meet in 2 different qualifying quarter-finals, which will take place at the end of Day 4.
- Day 5 is dedicated to the semi-finals and the medal games.
Thank you @FLOTUS for your support of our @usab3x3 team! Go USA! ???pic.twitter.com/pb47YC9kd3
— Kara Lawson (@karalawson20) July 24, 2021
