BUCHAREST (FIBA 3x3 Women's Series) – Confident Canada won their second consecutive FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series title at the ninth stop in Bucharest on August 10-11.

Canada won their first ever Women’s Series title with victory in Prague earlier this month and their momentum swept into Romania. But they stuttered early with a big 21-11 loss to Russia before regrouping with a 22-3 thrashing of Czech Republic.

The No.7 seeds defeated Spain and Poland in the knockout stages setting up a rematch with Russia in the decider. This time around, the Canadians were too strong with a comfortable 21-15 victory over the No.2 seeds.

Michelle Plouffe (CAN) was sensational with a game-high 9 points to cap off a dominant MVP campaign, where she topped the scoring charts with 45 overall points.

Russia lived up to their high seeding with a flawless tournament until the final. They had a balanced team effort led by Evgeniia Frolkina, who finished fourth in scoring overall with 28 points.

The shock of the tournament was world No.1 France exiting in the quarter-finals after losing a 17-15 thriller to FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2018 champs Italy. Four-time Women’s Series title winners France had won three tournaments in a row before the stunning defeat.

Italy’s dynamo Raelin "Rae Rae" D'Alie was sensational in Bucharest finishing equal second in scoring overall (30) and No.1 in highlights (19/3.8 per game).

Bucharest Standings
1. Canada
2. Russia
3. Poland
4. Italy
5. France
6. Spain
7. Romania
8. Czech Republic

In the overall standings, France still enjoys a big lead with 570 points but Canada have closed the gap and are outright second (410). Italy sit third with 350 points.

The next stop will be in Xiong’an on August 22-23.

FIBA