Romeo Claims Bronze At FIBA 3x3 World Championship, Shoot-Out Contest
October 15, 2016 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE -- University of Washington junior guard Natalie Romeo and the USA Basketball Women's 3x3 World Championship Team (5-2) closed out competition with a win and the bronze medal at the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Championship in Guangzhou, China. The USA women have now captured a medal in all three editions of the event after earning gold in 2012 and 2014. The sharpshooter from Martinez, Calif. also earned the bronze medal in the shoot-out contest.
USA sailed past Argentina 17-5 in the quarterfinals before falling to the Czech Republic 21-18 in its semifinal contest. The American women bounced back and exacted a bit of revenge against Spain (4-3), which defeated the USA 21-16 in the preliminary round, to earn a 20-14 bronze medal victory.
The shoot-out, a mixed competition, was won by Romania's Angel Santana and the silver medal was earned by Spain's Paula Palomares, the tournament's fourth-leading scorer (45 points).
"It was a really awesome experience," said Romeo on winning the shoot-out bronze medal. "I'm really happy to have that opportunity and I just tried to do my best. I would have loved to have the gold, but I'm super happy for what I have."
In the bronze medal game, the USA jumped to a 3-0 lead, but Spain worked its way to a 6-5 edge and the lead changed hands again before Spain went back in front 12-11 with 3:02 to on the clock. That's when Romeo came alive. She scored six of her team-high nine points in an 8-0 run to give the USA a comfortable 19-13 advantage with 1:21 on the clock. Spain scored from the line at 1:09, but after a Harper put-back, neither team managed to score in the final minute and the USA came away with the 20-13 victory.
"My teammates are really good about telling me to keep shooting it and finding me when I was open," said Romeo of her shooting in the bronze medal game. "I kind of let it flow and I got into a rhythm. My teammates were helping a lot with that, too."
The semifinal game against the Czech Republic was hotly contested from the start. After the Czechs took a 6-2 lead, the USA stormed back to move ahead 9-8 on a Romeo 2-pointer with 4:48 to play. The Czechs reclaimed the lead on a 4-0 run and with 2:33 to play, the Europeans were up 16-13. Countering with five consecutive points, three from Harper and two from Romeo, the U.S. took its final lead of the game, 18-16, at 1:52. After a Spain put-back, the USA committed its seventh foul and Spain took the lead for good after swishing in both tries with 41 seconds left. Jennings was sent to the line for two attempts at :33, but could not convert either tries. Two seconds later, two-time Olympian and eventual tournament MVP Michaela Uhrová dashed the USA's gold medal hopes with a 2-pointer to seal the win for her side, 21-18.
The women broke open an early 1-1 tie against Argentina in the quarterfinal, getting four points from Jennings in an 8-0 run that virtually put the game away, 9-1, at 4:48. After an Argentina point, the USA outscored Argentina 7-1 to take a 16-3 advantage with 1:54 to play and cruised in for the win to advance to the semifinals.
The USA 3x3 World Championship Team earned the right to represent the USA at the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Championship by virtue of winning the 2016 USA Basketball 3x3 National Tournament on Aug. 27-28 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Championships feature a total of 40 teams from 30 different countries and every continent in Guangzhou, China. Nations playing on the women's side included: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, host China, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine and USA.
This year marked the first time the competition was held in Asia. Previously, it has been in Athens, Greece (2012) and Moscow, Russia (2014). The event is held every other year in even numbered years.
The USA women won both prior championships and have now medaled in all three editions and have a 23-2 overall record in FIBA 3x3 World Championship play.
