Serving as coach for the U23 Canadian women's 3x3 basketball team, University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's basketball head coach Dianna Ros helped Canada capture gold at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay this past week.

"It was an absolute privilege to work alongside these elite athletes, who are not only outstanding competitors but also remarkable individuals," said Ros. "The highlight of this experience was seeing the team come together and bring home gold, especially after losing to the host team in our first game."

Opening the tournament with a loss versus Paraguay, Canada immediately bounced back a group stage victory over Puerto Rico. Canada then got on a roll, defeating Costa Rica 21-6 in the quarter-finals, Brazil 13-10 in the semifinals, and finally Mexico 18-13 in the gold medal match.

"Coaching 3x3 for the first time this summer was an incredible learning experience," added Ros. "The game itself is fast-paced and unique, especially since coaches aren't allowed to coach during play. That meant prioritizing the right adjustments between games became critical to finding success."

Concluding her summer with Canada Basketball, Ros now shifts her focus to the Varsity Blues 2025-26 campaign, utilizing the lessons learned.

"I'm excited to get back to work with our Varsity Blues. We already do a lot of 3v3 in practice, but we'll definitely see more 3x3 as it is so transferrable to the 5v5 game."

U of T open their preseason schedule on Friday, Sept. 26 with an exhibition outing at McMaster before returning to Goldring Centre on Friday, Oct. 3 for a home contest against the Memorial Sea-Hawks. Tickets for Varsity Blues home games are available for purchase at varsityblues.ca/tickets.