US men fall to Serbia 22-14 in 3×3 men’s basketball in disappointing debut at Paris Games

PARIS (AP) — The U.S. men’s debut in Olympic 3×3 basketball at the Paris Games was one to forget.

The Americans fell to Serbia 22-14 on Tuesday night in their opening game of these Olympics after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

Marko Brankovic had eight points and Strahinja Stojacic added seven, including a 2-pointer that ended it with 2:34 remaining, to lead Serbia, the bronze medal finisher in Tokyo.

The U.S. brought in former NBA player Jimmer Fredette after not qualifying for the last Olympics. But he managed just four points in the rout.

Kareem Maddox made a 2-pointer with about three minutes remaining to cut the lead to 18-14. But Dejan Majstorovic made 2-point shot before Dylan Travis missed for the U.S. to set up Stojacic’s game-winner.

Serbia didn’t miss a 1-point shot, making all 12 attempts, while the U.S. made just 10 of 16 of those opportunities, including an a miss by Fredette on a wide-open layup.

Maddox had six points to lead the United States. Canyon Barry, who works as a scientist for a defense contractor, added two points and a rebound. He is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry.

Neither team talked to reporters after the game because of the threat of severe storms that were expected in the area.

France 21, Poland 19

Lucas Dussoulier scored nine points, including the game-winning 2-pointer, to lead France over Poland.

Adrian Bogucki scored a basket with 1:48 remaining to tie it at 19-all before Dussoulier missed a 2-pointer. But Franck Seguela grabbed the offensive rebound and dished it to Dussoulier, who made the shot to end it.

Przemysław Zamojski and Bogucki had six points each to lead Poland.

Latvia 21, Lithuania 14

Nauris Miezis had nine points and four rebounds to lead defending champion Latvia over Lithuania.

Miezis and Karlis Lasmanis returned from the Latvian team that won gold in Tokyo, and they added Francis Lacis and Zigmars Raimo for the Paris Games.

“This is the Olympics, and you have to be mentally ready,” Miezis said. “This is the most…

Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/miezis-leads-defending-champion-latvia-190409438.html

Author : The Canadian Press

Publish date : 2024-07-31 04:55:06

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