Coaches of Jamaica's male and female teams have expressed satisfaction with improvements following their performance at the FIBA 3x3 basketball tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico over the weekend. Both teams advanced to Sunday's quarter-finals on the weekend tournament, but suffered defeat in contrasting fashion. Jamaica's male team lost 21-14 to eventual champions the United States, while the females were narrowly beaten 12-11 by hosts Puerto Rico.
According to Oneil Brown, head coach of the female team, they did well even though half the four-member squad was slowed by injuries. "Two of the players (Sasha Dixon and Crystal Primm) got hurt from the first game. They fought through the injuries and, in the quarter-finals, we got our chances but lost by a point," Brown said.
"However, I'm proud of the ladies and their performances." He further stated that, based on the evidence of Jamaica's style and growth in 3x3 basketball, the gap is getting smaller against top-ranked countries around the world. "It's closing.
Canada went on to win the title and they only defeated us by a point. We're right there. Last year, we lost in the quarter-final to Brazil by two points and they medalled this year.
We're not far away and I'm proud with where we are now," Brown added. Rick Turner, head of the male team, stated that there's no embarrassment in losing two games, especially against teams finishing in medal positions. "We competed and played hard.
We lost to the bronze medal (Canada) and .
