Croatia and Japan make waves, going perfect in pool play on Day 1 of the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Croatia men came into this tournament a bit under the radar, but took no time to make a loud statement in the pool play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They started off with a matchup against reigning champs Germany. What followed was a masterful defensive display from the Croatians, grinding the explosive Germans to a halt while finding buckets of their own. The game ended 15 – 13 in favor of Croatia, a marquee win for the side. Roko Baburek put up a team-high 6 points in the result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They took on Poland next, another team that has earned the top spot in this competition in the past. It was once again the Baburek-led Croatians that dominated, holding Poland to just 10 points in a 13 – 10 victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All eyes will be on Croatia who have established a comfortable advantage in the initial portion of pool play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Dulguun Gankhuyagwas in go-mode tonight. Mongolia, though going 1-1 in their games today, looked dominant on offense and it was much thanks to Gankhuyag. He put up a team-high 9 points in their win against Italy, including a two to call game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He followed it up with a massive 12-point outburst in a narrow loss to Argentina. If Mongolia hope to go far in the tournament, they\u2019ll need the Mongo-Lion to keep roaring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Japan get rolling, good luck trying to stop them. The offensive juggernauts were on fire all day as they started off their women\u2019s U23 World Cup run on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A team of stars, all capable of scoring from all levels, Japan made easy work of Egypt in their opener with a 22 – 11 victory. Momoka Hanashima scored a team-high 7 points with everyone finding their touch from deep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a tougher matchup in their final game of the day against Chinese Taipei, a closely contested affair that went Japan\u2019s way – 20 – 18. This time it was Tanaka Ufuoma who led in scoring with 8 points. The blistering side from Japan put themselves in a comfortable spot heading into the final pool games on Day 3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poland were dominant as it gets to start pool play, steamrolling past opposition on their way to a perfect record, and Magdelena Szymkiewicz was at the forefront of it. She notched a whopping 11 points in a 21 – 4 result against Algeria, imposing herself and earning fouls to lead the way for her side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added 8 points to her tally, another team-high scoring display as they earned a 22 – 9 victory against Venezuela. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Polish star was on an absolute tear as Poland showed out on Day One action. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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