Germany, Spain, the U.S., and Canada all reached the semifinals in women’s 3×3 basketball at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Germany and Spain secured their spots in Monday’s semifinals by finishing in the top two positions at the end of pool play.
The U.S. team, the defending champions, and Canada won their play-in games on Saturday night. The U.S. defeated China 21-13, and Canada won 21-10 against Australia.
Germany will play Canada in the next round, and Spain will face the U.S.
Sonja Greinacher led Germany with five points in their 18-15 victory over Spain on Saturday. Germany ended pool play with a 6-1 record.
“It is unbelievable to be honest,” Germany’s Marie Reichert said. “It is still crazy what we achieved, finishing the first round in the first spot. We did not imagine this. I think the chances of getting a medal are pretty high, so we are excited.”
Gracia Alonso scored five points for Spain, which finished pool play with a 4-3 record.
Dearica Hamby scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the U.S. over China. It was the team’s fifth consecutive win after starting the tournament 0-3.
Hamby made all three of her 2-point attempts, with her last one sealing the win with five seconds left.
“We’re happy but obviously we’ve still got two more games that are more important,” Hamby said. “But we just keep getting better each game. This might have been our best offensive performance, fluidity and just like open baskets, the easiest shots we’ve gotten all tournament.”
Cierra Burdick spoke about the effort that got them to this point and the chance to help the U.S. win gold again.
“This is why I started the journey,” she said. “This is why I put all the work in and why (Hailey Van Lith) and I have been working for the past three summers for this moment right here.”
The U.S. also beat China 14-12 earlier in the day to finish pool play.
