Canada's eyes were set on gold at the women's 3x3 basketball World Cup. It moved one step closer to that goal on Thursday, beating Mongolia and Hungary to win its pool and earn a direct berth into Saturday's quarterfinals in Vienna, Austria.
In its tournament debut in 2022, Canada earned silver before ripping through the Women's Series season en route to a championship.
The Canadians' push to upgrade that silver hit a road bump Tuesday with an opening upset loss to the Czech Republic and an early 7-1 hole against the U.S.
But Canada went on to beat the Americans, and left nothing to chance in its final group-stage tilts. In a 21-9 win over Mongolia, Canada's Paige Crozon caught fire from beyond the arc, making three two-pointers as she poured in a team-leading 11 points.