The United States men’s basketball 3×3 were out of the tournament with a thud, watching its potential Cinderella run go down in a hail of missed shots in a blowout loss to the Netherlands on Sunday.
If there was any danger of the Netherlands overlooking the United States, it had disappeared by the time they tipped off with Team USA; Lithuania’s defeat of Serbia minutes earlier confirmed that second place and a bye to the semifinals were in play for the Dutch. (As a reminder, the top two teams in the eight-team pool head straight to the semifinals, while teams 3-6 head to the play-in round and teams 7-8 are eliminated.)
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Netherlands 21, United States 6
Netherlands 21, United States 6
Worthy de Jong scored 11 points as the ruthless Netherlands men’s basketball 3×3 team clobbered the United States 21-6 at La Concorde 1 on Saturday.
Having rebounded from an 0-4 start, the Americans entered their final pool match in need of a win to reach the play-in round but rarely looked like they’d come close to a positive result as the Netherlands shot 82% from the field including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis each were responsible for two of the six points.
Still without Jimmer Fredette, the Americans shot a woeful 1-of-11 from 2-point territory, were outrebounded 12-8 and committed four turnovers while failing to turn over the Dutch even once.
The U.S. finish the tournament in seventh place, with China in eighth. The U.S. beat China and France for their 2-5 record.
Other scores
France 21, China 12
Latvia 22, Poland 16
Lithuania 20, Serbia 18
Men’s 3×3 bracket
Latvia had already sealed the top spot prior to Sunday’s action, and the Netherlands finish second to scoop up a bye to the semifinals. The play-in rounds will see Lithuania against Poland and Serbia versus France later Sunday. The Netherlands tangle with the Lithuania/Poland winner in the semifinals on Monday, while Latvia will meet Serbia or France. The gold and bronze medal matches will also be played Monday.
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