RANCAGUA, Chile (July 24, 2023) - Canada’s 3x3 U23 National Teams both went 1-1, falling short of the Stop 1 Final at the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League 2023 Americas on Monday in Rancagua, Chile.

Carly Ahlstrom, Taya Hanson, Tara Wallack and Keishana Washington suited up for Canada in the opening stop of the Nations League event.

Led by a team-high eight points from Hanson, who along with Wallack starred for Canada’s 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning 3x3 squad, Canada edged Chile 19-18 in the team’s opening game of the stop. 

Keishana Washington, who is making her 3x3 debut after representing Canada at GLOBL JAM earlier this month in Toronto, had five points of her own in the win.

Unfortunately for Canada, with a berth in the Stop 1 Final on the line, they were bested 13-8 by Puerto Rico. Hanson had five of Canada’s eight points in the game, including a pair of makes from beyond-the-arc.

After winning Pool A, United States defeated Chile 21-24 to finish the day undefeated and take Stop 1.

On the men’s side, Cole Syllas, Justin Ndjock-Tadjore, Aaron Rhooms and Gus Goerzen earned the start for Canada’s 3x3 U23 Men’s National Team in Stop 1 on Monday.

It was a dominant 3x3 debut for Rhooms, as the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold forward had 10 of Canada’s 21 points en route to a convincing 21-12 victory over the United States to begin Stop 1.

Rhooms punctuated the win by slamming down one of his 10 points to help Canada hit 21, after taking advantage of a nifty steal then dish from Ndjock-Tadjore.

Yet despite Goerzen’s nine points in the team’s second game of the day, Canada fell short in a back and forth battle to Venezuela by the score of 21-15. The loss eliminated Canada from Final contention. 

Venezuela went on to win Stop 1, thanks to a 16-12 victory over Chile. 

Both of Canada’s teams are back on the court on Tuesday, as action from Rancagua continues with Stop 2 of the Nations League event.‍

Canada’s women will share Pool B with United States and Puerto Rico. Game times are 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT and 3:50 pm ET / 12:50 pm PT.

Canada’s men will take on Chile and Venezuela in Pool B play. Game times are 2:25 pm ET / 11:25 am ET and 4:15 pm ET / 1:15 pm PT.

All of the action will stream live on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube Channel.

The FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League 2023 Americas features six three-game tournaments in seven days, including daily pool play and a final. Teams earn tour standing points after each one-day event. The best-ranked team in the standings after the sixth day are declared winners of their conference and qualify for the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League Final taking place September 13-15 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.