USA and Ukraine, untouchable in the first day at FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup in Debrecen

DEBRECEN (Hungary) - People were coming for the games, but they stayed also for the highlights, as the first day at FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, in Debrecen, Hungary had more reels’ material than a social media influencer's feed.

The Teams

Men

USA came back hungry for success after missing last year’s tournament, and they went 2-0 in the first day of the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup in Debrecen. In the headliner of the day, they muscled their way to victory in a tight clash against Spain, 21-18in Pool A.

Alexander Carrasco, the top scorer of FIBA 3x3 U17 Europe Cup was on fire, with 10 points, but the balanced offense of the USA prevailed in the end.

Nicholas Khamenia finished with eight points and had a decisive “and one” play to close the game, while Bo Ogden hit three times from beyond the arc, for a total of seven points. USA had the fastest game of the day against Egypt, ended after 5:28 of playing time.

Germany was the other undefeated team in the men’s competition. They were too much for the home crowd favoritesHungary, 17-11 in their first game of Pool B, while in the second Raul Dumnici caught fire for 13 points, including four two pointers and Germany defeated Uzbekistan 21-9.

USA and Spain are the big favorites in Pool A, with Brasil still having a chance to steal the show in Day 3. Hungary and Uzbekistan will fight for second place in Pool B.

Women

European powerhouse Ukraine dominated the action in Pool A, but Mexico got the best out of them, 18-14 the final score. It was a one-point game, 12-11, with three minutes to go, when TaisiiaVypovska took over, scoring four of her 11 points in a one minute span, before Svitlana Poliantseva finished the business.

Mexico and Thailand will duel on Day 3 for a place in the quarterfinals, as both teams registered already one win against Morocco.

Japan and China cruised through the first two games of Pool C, both teams winning their games against Kyrgyzstan and India before regulation. So the stage is set for a classic in Day 3, the stake being the first place of the pool.

The players

It’s a three-horse race in Top Scorers for men, after the first day. Bo Ogden (USA), Alexandre Carrasco (Spain) and Yan Do Valle (Brasil) all have 17 points.

Germany’s Daniel Biel is stepping on the footsteps of last year’s gold medalist Fabian Giesmann taking over the highlights reelbusiness with two thunderous dunks and one monster block.

Taisiia Vypovska (Ukraine) is leading the women’s field with 16 points in two games, being almost unstoppable in the paint, with 12 points.

Chinese Jiaxin Wang was showing a pure shooter form, with six made 2 pointers and collected 15 points after two games.

Day 2

The group stage continues on 27th of August with plenty of action from Pools B and D in both men and women. The Debrecen 3x3 extravaganza hasn’t reached the half yet so keep following us!