Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
TRINIDAD AND Tobago’s men’s team finished fourth at the FIBA 3×3 Americup in Miami, United States, on Sunday.
After losing out to the US 21-15 in the semi-final round earlier in the day, TT went down to Brazil 21-9 in the third-place playoff.
Brazil dominated the ten-minute, 21-point contest as they took an early 9-1 lead. But after five minutes of play, Brazil held a hefty 17-5 advantage and were destined for the bronze medal.
TT tried valiantly to claw themselves back into it but could only score four more points before Brazil hit the 21-point mark.
In the semi-final clash against USA, Adrian Joseph drew first blood by netting in the first minute. Seconds later, American Jimmer Fredette equalised but Boyd put TT ahead once more.
USA’s Kareem Maddox levelled the playing field once more and the goal-for-goal from each nation continued until they were tied at 6-6. That’s when the US capitalised on TT’s inability to get back to their respective spots and charged ahead.
TT however, were guilty of leaving the US shooters open.
At the end of the semi, the commentators lauded the National Basketball Federation of TT for allowing both men and women’s teams the opportunity to compete against the region’s top teams.
In the women’s division, TT’s Nikiya Baptiste, Crystal Ann George, Jameela Mc Carthy and Afeisha Noel advanced out of the qualifying round as the second ranked team.
But in the group stage, they went down to Puerto Rico 21-13 and Dominican Republic 21-14 and were unable to move on to the next round.
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