2020 USA E-National Team Wins FIBA Esports Open II
December 19, 2020
UPDATED as of Dec 20th, 8:o0 PM/ET: The USA E-National Team defeated the Dominican Republic 2 games to 0 and are your FIBA Esports Open II North and Central America Conference CHAMPIONS!
CHAMPIONS! 🇺🇸🥇🏆
The USA E-National Team takes the #FIBAesportsOpen II title!
🇺🇸 #UnitedWeGame pic.twitter.com/yBSD0HPUXu
— USA E-National Team 🇺🇸 (@USABgaming) December 21, 2020
Team USA finished with a dominant 7-1 record, only dropping their opening game of the event.
Team captain JBM was named MVP after averaging 20.5 PPG and 7 APG during the Finals, and seemingly dropping clutch 3 after clutch 3 when USA found themselves behind a tough Dominican Republic opponent (he was 7-10 from 3 during Game 2). After being awarded the honor, JBM remained humble and insisted that the victory was a team effort.
“There’s not really a word to put on it,” said JBM to USABasketball after the event. “To carry USA Basketball’s reputation and to win, to win those nail-biters, to fight after losing that first game, these guys really had my back.”
Read more about the historic tournament on USAB.com.
UPDATED as of Dec 19th, 8:20 PM/ET: The USA E-National Team has just finished the opening day of the FIBA Esports Open II with a 4-1 record. They are currently in first place in the North and Central America Conference with 9 PTS, with more matchups to come tomorrow starting at 3:30 pm/et. For a complete schedule, visit USAB.com.
Day 1 Top Moments x #FIBAEsportsOpen
5⃣ @Ria_IV vs 🇵🇷
4⃣ @KennyGotWork vs 🇨🇦
3⃣ @ALittleLady87 vs 🇭🇳
2⃣ @JackMascone vs 🇩🇴
1⃣ @Cruuushy & @Ria_IV vs 🇩🇴🇺🇸 #UnitedWeGame pic.twitter.com/S5561cPdVB
— USA E-National Team 🇺🇸 (@USABgaming) December 20, 2020
Today’s the day!
After weeks of grinding and determination, the 2020 USA E-National Team is ready to turn up in the FIBA Esports Open II.
The North and Central America Conference will be jumpin’ as Round 1 will feature games between Team USA and Puerto Rico, Honduras, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala all afternoon. See below for specific game times, or access their schedule on USAB.com. Team USA will feature many familiar faces from the NBA 2K League, including Kenny Got Work (Raptors Uprising GC), JBM (Wizards District Gaming), Crush (Kings Guard Gaming), Malik (Knicks Gaming), Ramo (Pistons GT), Ria (Jazz Gaming) and ALittleLady87 (Women in Gaming camp).
“If we play as a fist, we will be a hard team to beat. We all are excited and ready to represent our country.” @CoachTerrell
We make our official international debut tomorrow in the #FIBAesportsOpen. 🇺🇸 #UnitedWeGame
— USA E-National Team 🇺🇸 (@USABgaming) December 19, 2020
“You’ve got seven different heads working as a cohesive unit,” Ria told USAB recently. “Everyone’s on the same level in terms of how smart they are with 2K and everything, so it makes for a really good environment. It’s really scary to see how good you can get playing with these people around you.”
“I definitely saw us getting better, and I don’t see anybody stopping us,” a confident Kenny Got Work mentioned.
Team Canada also features members of the NBA 2K League, amongst others in the conference.
You’ll be able to watch the Open’s games on the Olympic Channel, or FIBA’s Facebook page, Twitch or YouTube channel.
