Today in Asunción, Paraguay, the teams portion of the 2019 Pan American Championships concluded as scheduled. Also as predicted, the top-seeded Brazilian gentlemen won the men's team championship. After defeating the USA contingent of Kanak Kha, Nikhil Kumar, Kai Zhang and Nicholas Tio 3-1 in the semifinals, Brazil gave the same treatment to Puerto Rico in the finals. While the sixth-seeded Puerto Rican men exceeded expectations, their countrywomen bore the pressure of being top seeds in the women's team event. Perhaps the pressure got to them. Facing the second-seeded US women's team of Wu Yue, Lily Zhang, Amy Wang and Crystal Wang (pictured) in the semifinals, they could not get on the board. Key to the sweep was Amy Wang's 3-2 win over world #28 Adriana Diaz. For their efforts, the USA women earned a spot in the finals against Brazil, the third seeds. Wu Yue and Lily Zhang got things going in the ideal manner with a 3-1 doubles win over Jessica Yamada and Caroline Kumahara. Brazilian ace Bruna Takahashi then leveled matters with a 3-1 decision over Crystal Wang. In the pivotal third game, Lily Zhang faced Caroline Kumahara. In a seesaw battle, Zhang held on to win 3-2, giving the USA a 2-1 match lead. Of course, Brazil was not in the finals by accident. Once again, Bruna Takahashi posted the equalizer, defeating Wu Yue 3-2 to tie it a two matches apiece. It would all come down to Crystal Wang and Jessica Yamada. While each is accustomed to playing backup on her respective squad, today they would get their moments in the spotlight. Wang was best when it mattered most, winning the game, match and championship by the minimum margin allowable by law, (11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9). In the words of Ennio Morricone, it was the ecstasy of gold for the USA. For Brazil, it was silver by a sliver. As an added bonus, both the USA men and women's teams qualified for the 2020 World Championships by virtue of their top-six finishes. In all, it was a most productive three days' work. Now the teams disband in the quest for individual glory, to conclude Sunday.

More at ITTF