The Parisian team, made up of two players who won silver medals at the Paris Games, lost (20-22) on Sunday in the Masters world final at the end of a scenario reminiscent of the Olympic final.
Like this summer in the final of the Paris Games, everything came down to nothing, a detail and especially a final shot from that devil Worthy de Jong in overtime. At the end of a thrilling final, with multiple twists and turns, the basketball players of 3 x 3 Paris were beaten (20-22), in sudden death by the Dutch from Amsterdam during the world final of the international circuit “FIBA 3 x 3 WorldTour” in Hong Kong. The meeting brought together the 12 best teams of the season.
This cruel scenario risks reviving some painful memories for the French. The Parisian team is in fact made up of two silver medallists at the Paris Games – Franck Seguela and Jules Rambaut – who had seen the Olympic gold slip away from them on a shot by De Jong in overtime of the final…
Three months later, the Dutchman – crowned best player in the world the day before and author of 13 points in the final – has once again transformed himself into a dream shatterer for the Tricolores.
The Parisians, who had scalped Miami (21-17) – third in the world and recent winner of the Neom Masters (Saudi Arabia) – in the quarter-finals and then Riffa (Bahrain) in the semi-finals (21-13), had nevertheless started the match perfectly. They quickly took the lead (9-4) and led throughout the match (17-19) until the opposing team equalized before the end of regulation time.
With 30 seconds to go, Franck Seguela even thought he had given the title to Les Bleus with a 2-point shot before the video showed otherwise. The Frenchman had the tip of his sole, by a few millimeters, on the line… The chance had passed.
Despite the immense disappointment, the 3 x 3 Paris has made an impression throughout the season and has undoubtedly attracted future sponsors. Created in 2022 with the Paris Games in mind, the team had managed to secure its sesame thanks to a breathtaking campaign and a fourth place in the world. Registered in eight Masters (out of 16), it had reached the final six times and won the Lausanne tournament in mid-August.
But after a little over two years of existence, the Parisian team – composed of Paul Djoko, Hugo Suhard and Alex Vialaret in addition to the two silver medalists at the Olympic Games – will lower the curtain in a few days.
The French Basketball Federation, which supported them in this project for Paris 2024, will no longer be able to support them as before. Forcing the players to find other resources before the launch of a new structure, probably on the Toulouse side.
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