Nothing like a trip home to soak up the Okanagan sunshine and enjoy the spoils of victory to help recharge life's battery.
Vernon's Cassandra Brown brought with her to the North Okanagan a bottle of red Bordeaux wine, gifted to her and her Team Canada teammates for winning the latest stop on the FIBA Basketball 3x3 Women's Series in the namesake region in southwest France where the wine was bottled.
"I tucked it safely in my bag," laughed Brown, 33, as she navigated her way safely, hands free, through a Starbucks drive-thru, chatting via mobile with a reporter about her Bordeaux prize. "I plan to enjoy it while I'm at home."
Canada’s 3x3 women’s national team captured its second consecutive FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series stop, defeating Austria 18-12 in the final to win in Bordeaux, France.
Fresh off its victory at home in Edmonton two weeks ago (though Brown did not play in that event), Canada cruised through group play with a 21-6 win over Uganda and a 21-10 win over Austria to finish first in Pool A.
They advanced with a 21-12 quarterfinal win over Ulaanbaatar from Mongolia before downing the United States 20-15 in the semifinal.
Saicha Grant-Allen was named tournament MVP after posting the highest player value at 34.7. She also finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 28 points. Brown and Paige Crozon followed with 27 points apiece, while Katherine Plouffe registered a tournament-high 14 key assists.
In the semifinal against the U.S., Grant-Allen scored eight of Canada’s 20 points. Plouffe added six assists in that game alone, and Brown pulled down a game-high six rebounds.
In the final, Crozon delivered with a game-high 10 points and a team-high five rebounds to seal, and later uncork, the bottle of vino.
"I'm super pumped about winning," said Brown, listed at six-foot-two. "I've come close this year, second in Amsterdam and third at the World Cup, but this is my first title.
Brown has played in three of the four previous Series stops for Canada.
She helped the team place second in Amsterdam, falling in the final, 20-11, to the host Netherlands. Canada came fifth in Ulaanbaatar in June, losing to Australia in the quarterfinals. Brown and her mates stayed in Mongolia for the Women's 3x3 World Cup, and they earned the bronze medal with a win over Poland. Brown missed the Edmonton stop before jetting off to France to rejoin the team.
She's having a blast playing the three-on-three game.
"I love it," said Brown. "It's fast, dynamic, and exciting. The travel is a bit hectic but it's lots of fun, the girls I'm playing with are great.
"It's been a great summer. We've been top three pretty much every competition, we came third at the World Cup and was close to making it to the final. It's been a really successful year."
Canada is currently ranked No. 4 in the World, and has qualified for the Women's Series Finals Sept. 13 and 14 in Shanghai, China. After that, Brown will leave for Japan, where she has signed to play five-on-five basketball in the Japanese Women's Pro League with the Chanson V-Magic in Shizuoka, located 90 minutes south of Tokyo. It's a city with spectacular views of Mt. Fuji.
"I played professionally last year in Australia and New Zealand, but I'm looking forward to this experience," said Brown.
The Japanese season starts in October and runs until April.
