USA women win 3×3 FIBA gold; men take silver

The Team USA women won the 3×3 FIBA World Cup on Sunday in Vienna, taking their first world gold medal since 2014 with a 16-12 victory over France.

The Team USA men took home the silver medal in heartbreaking fashion, losing a lead to 3×3 power Serbia as Jimmer Fredette missed a potential game winner before the U.S. lost 21-19.

Hailey Van Lith, a star at Louisville who recently transferred to join national champion LSU, had seven points and six rebounds in the title game. Cierra Burdick, a former star at Tennessee, also scored seven points with six rebounds in the final as the Americans played strong defense against the French women, who went 0-of-12 on 2-point shot attempts.

The U.S. women lost their first game of the tournament to Canada, then won seven straight to capture the gold. They placed only seventh at the World Cup last year.

“Unbelievable,” Burdick said. “Unbelievable. Last year I was super disappointed with our performance in the World Cup. I don’t even want to talk about last year. I’m just so happy to be here, to bounce back like this, with this staff, with this team.”

Stanford Cardinal rising senior forward Cameron Brink, playing in her first 3×3 tournament, was named the women’s World Cup MVP. She averaged 4.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over eight games.

“This team has come such a long way,” Van Lith said.

The Team USA men were looking to reclaim the World Cup title they last won in 2019. Serbia dominates the world stage in the event, now having won five of the past six World Cups, which are played every other year. Fredette scored 10 points in the final and made four 2-point baskets, which are shots behind the arc. The 3×3 game is played first to 21 or whichever team is ahead at the end of the 10-minute game clock.

Team USA was ahead 19-15 at one point and Fredette had a clean look at a 2-pointer that would’ve clinched the title but missed. Dylan Travis, a veteran 3×3 player whose full-time job is as teacher in Omaha, Nebraska, scored five points in the title game. Canyon Barry, the son of Rick Barry who also played at Florida, scored four.

“The experience was amazing,” Fredette said. “We’ve had a great tournament. We were right where we wanted to be.”

Serbia was led by Dejan Majstorovic, the most decorated player in 3×3 World Cup history, who scored seven points and made three 2-pointers.

Both the Team USA men and women secured berths in the Olympic qualifying tournament for next year in Paris. In 2021, the Team USA women won the first-ever Olympic 3×3 gold in Tokyo. Lativa won the men’s gold.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.